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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Oct 4.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2012 Oct 4;76(1):116–129. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.08.036

Figure 1. Sites of action for nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.

Figure 1

Nicotinic (nAChR) and muscarinic (mAChR) acetylcholine receptors are localized both pre- and post-synaptically. Presynaptic mAChRs (M2, M4) are largely inhibitory, and act as inhibitory autoreceptors on cholinergic terminals, with M2 the predominant autoreceptor in hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and M4 predominant in striatum (Wess, 2003b; Wess et al., 2003). Post-synaptic mAChRs can be either inhibitory (M2, M4) or excitatory (M1, M3, M5) (Wess, 2003b; Wess et al., 2003). Presynaptic nAChRs induce release of a number of neurotransmitters including GABA, glutamate, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine (McGehee et al., 1995; Wonnacott, 1997). Postsynaptic nAChRs depolarize neurons, increase their firing rate and can contribute to long-term potentiation (Bucher and Goaillard, 2011; Ge and Dani, 2005; Ji et al., 2001; Kawai et al., 2007; Mansvelder and McGehee, 2000; Picciotto et al., 1995; Picciotto et al., 1998; Radcliffe and Dani, 1998; Wooltorton et al., 2003).