{"id":19241,"date":"2019-11-13T02:16:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T10:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/?p=19241"},"modified":"2020-03-25T21:26:06","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T04:26:06","slug":"acetylcholine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/blog\/acetylcholine\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Acetylcholine & What Does it Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acetylcholine is a hot topic within the realm of memory enhancement. It is a neurotransmitter that is critical for the everyday functioning of the brain: particularly in the areas of movement, learning & memory, and sleep<\/a> quality. Check out this post to learn about the receptors, function, and health effects of this key neurotransmitter.<\/p>\n

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What Is Acetylcholine?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Definition & Discovery<\/span><\/h3>\n

Acetylcholine<\/i> was first discovered in 1914, and was in fact the first of the brain\u2019s major neurotransmitters to be identified [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Acetylcholine was first studied for its role in regulating wakefulness and sleep. However, since its initial discovery it has been associated with a wide variety of different important functions and roles throughout the brain and the rest of the body [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

It is believed that choline<\/i><\/a> \u2014 the chemical and metabolic precursor to acetylcholine \u2014 was originally used by single-celled organisms billions of years ago to create their protective outer cell layers (membranes<\/i>). Since this earliest biological function, its role has since been expanded over the course of evolution to become involved in a wide range of important functions including muscular control, sleep<\/a> regulation, and even higher cognitive functions, such as learning and memory [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Acetylcholine is synthesized from acetyl-coenzyme A<\/i> (which comes from glucose<\/i><\/a>) and choline<\/i>, with the help of an enzyme called choline acetyltransferase<\/i><\/a> [R<\/a>]. However, unlike many other neurotransmitters, acetylcholine is created (synthesized<\/i>) within the connections between<\/i> neurons (the neural synapses<\/i>), rather than inside neurons themselves [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that uses choline as a building block. It was first discovered for its role in wakefulness and sleep.<\/div><\/div>\n

Function<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the central functions of acetylcholine is to trigger muscle movements, which it does by stimulating the synapses where the nervous system connects to the muscular system (neuromuscular junctions<\/i>, or \u201cNMJs\u201d) [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

However, this role is not just limited to controlling the muscles that move the body around: for example, acetylcholine and histamine<\/a> interact together to contract muscles in the lungs, which enables breathing (respiration<\/i>) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

While it plays a large and complex variety of roles throughout the brain, acetylcholine is most commonly associated with certain cognitive functions, such as memory<\/a> and attention<\/a>. It is also believed to play a role in promoting the phase of sleep<\/a> associated with dreaming (REM sleep<\/i>) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

From muscle contractions to cognition to dreaming, acetylcholine plays diverse roles in the body.<\/div><\/div>\n

Acetylcholine Receptors<\/span><\/h3>\n

Acetylcholine can act on the two different types of receptors in the body: nicotinic and muscarinic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n