Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the ascending dopamine pathways

Phil D Livingstone1, Susan Wonnacott

  • 1Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.

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The pharmacological actions of acetylcholine are elicited via its binding to two families of cholinergic receptors or cholinoceptors, namely, muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. Muscarinic receptors are G protein-coupled receptors and have five subtypes, M1–M5. All mAChR subtypes are activated by acetylcholine and blocked by the antagonist, atropine. 
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