The central cholinergic system regulates both the circadian clock and sleep-wake cycle and may participate in the feedback control of vigilance states on neural excitability in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that houses the circadian clock. Here we investigate the mechanisms for cholinergic modulation of SCN neuron excitability. Cell-attached recordings indicate that the nonspecific choliner...

We investigated the effects of a neurokinin-1 (NK(1)) receptor antagonist (SR-140333) and a NK(2) receptor antagonist (SR-48968) on airway responsiveness and on the function of neuronal M(2) muscarinic receptors, which normally inhibit vagal acetylcholine release, in guinea pigs infected with parainfluenza virus. Antagonists were given 1 h before infection and daily thereafter. Four days later,...

Beta adrenergic receptor antagonists and antiemetic muscarinic receptor antagonists are useful for mental health in primary care and family medicine settings, as they provide favorable risk/benefit profiles, and especially so relative to benzodiazepines. Beta blockers (e.g., propranolol) prescribed off-label have been known for decades to provide some, albeit limited, anxiolytic benefit for pat...

The potential functional roles of M(3) muscarinic receptors in mouse atria were examined by pharmacological and molecular biological techniques, using wild-type mice, muscarinic M(2) or M(3) receptor single knockout (M(2)KO, M(3)KO), and M(2) and M(3) muscarinic receptor double knockout mice (M(2)/M(3)KO). Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed th...

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex is a sensorimotor gating process known to be deficient in a number of neurologic and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Multiple lines of evidence have indicated that the dopaminergic and muscarinic cholinergic systems play an important role in modulating PPI. Moreover, interactions between the dopaminergic and muscarinic ch...

BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) is an degenerative disease characterized by chronic joint pain. Complementary and alternative treatment such as acupuncture have been utilized to alleviate pain. The objective of this study was to investigate the analgesic mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) in the collagenase-induced osteoarthritis (CIOA) rat model. METHODS Four weeks after inducing CIOA by i...

BACKGROUND The subject of this study is determination of the influence of drugs on gastric fundus smooth muscle contraction induced by activation of muscarinic receptors M1. Experiments tested interactions between a receptor agonist, carbachol and muscarinic receptor antagonists, atropine and pirenzepine. MATERIAL/METHODS Testing was conducted on tissues isolated from rat's stomach. Male Wist...

The subfornical organ (SFO) is sensitive to both ANG II and ACh, and local application of these agents produces dipsogenic responses and vasopressin release. The present study examined the effects of cholinergic drugs, ANG II, and increased extracellular osmolarity on dissociated, cultured cells of the SFO that were retrogradely labeled from the supraoptic nucleus. The effects were measured as ...