Pharmacology of Cholinergic and Adrenergic Transmission

Section on Pharmacology of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (SEPHAR), Proceedings of the Second International Pharmacological Meeting, August 20-23, 1963, Volume 3: Pharmacology of Cholinergic and Adrenergic Transmission focuses on the effects of drugs on muscles, nerve fibers, and the central nervous system. The selection first offers information on the role of sodium ions in the release of acetylcholine and the distribution and release of acetylcholine in muscles. Discussions focus on the effects of sodium deficiency on ACh release in perfused ganglia; effects of sodium pump inhibitors on ganglionic and myoneural transmission; distribution of ACh and choline acetylase in muscle; and ACh release after denervation. The text then ponders on the roles of acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase in junctional transmission and correlated studies of monoamines and acetylcholinesterase in sympathetic ganglia, manifesting the distribution of adrenergic and cholinergic neurons. The publication examines the action of acetylcholine and related drugs on mammalian nonmyelinated nerve fibers; possible mechanisms of acetylcholine action in muscles; and electrophysiological analysis of cholinergic transmission in sympathetic ganglia. The text then reviews the interactions of cholinomimetic and cholinergic blocking drugs at sympathetic ganglia; evolution of cholinoreceptive sites of locomotor muscle; and pharmacological blocking of central cholinoreactive systems and the possibilities of its therapeutic application. The selection is a dependable source of data for readers interested in the pharmacology of cholinergic and adrenergic transmission.