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British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy
. 1960 Sep;15(3):417–424. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1960.tb01266.x

The release of acetylcholine from mammalian motor nerve endings

D W Straughan
PMCID: PMC1481843  PMID: 19108135

Abstract

The release of acetylcholine from rat and guinea-pig isolated diaphragm preparations stimulated through the phrenic nerve was optimal at 37° in Krebs solution with 5×10-6 neostigmine methylsulphate. The amount of acetylcholine released by a 20 min. tetanus was reduced by cooling. At frequencies of stimulation above 6/sec. the release was less than that predicted. This “failure” was unaffected by the addition of 1×10-6 choline. The acetylcholine release declined with continued stimulation at 25/sec. In the absence of nerve stimulation, there was a small continuous resting release of acetylcholine which seemed to originate in the muscle fibres. These results are discussed in the light of current electrophysiological knowledge of the quantal release of acetylcholine.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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