Acetylcholine

Acetylcholine is a hot topic within the realm of memory enhancement. It is a neurotransmitter that is critical for the everyday functioning of the brain, particularly in the areas of movement, learning & memory, and sleep quality. Check out this post to learn how to promote balanced acetylcholine in your body and function at your very best.

Introduction 

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that is used for many things: from stimulating muscles to memory and sleep.
Acetylcholine is synthesized in nerve terminals from acetyl-CoA (which is synthesized from glucose) and choline in a reaction that is catalyzed by choline acetyltransferase [R].
Acetylcholine controls movements by activating skeletal muscles and causes muscle contraction [R].
Acetylcholine and histamine interact together to contract muscles in the lungs [R].
It also schedules and promotes REM sleep [R].
Another important role of acetylcholine is in the brain; it is involved in memory and attention [R, R].

Benefits of Acetylcholine

1) Acetylcholine Prevents Memory Loss

Too little acetylcholine in the hippocampus has been associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s [R].
There is a link between acetylcholine and Alzheimer’s disease. It is estimated that there is a 90% loss of acetylcholine in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s [R].
Acetylcholine may enhance memory by helping encoding new memories and increasing the modification of synapses [R].

2) Acetylcholine Improves Attention

Acetylcholine helped improve attention and improves decision-making skills [R].

3) Acetylcholine Helps You Sleep Better

Acetylcholine promotes REM sleep, which helps memory storage and for the brain to rest. Acetylcholine release in the basal forebrain is highest during REM sleep [R].

4) Acetylcholine Regulates Gastrointestinal Activity

Presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) help release acetylcholine in the gut.
These receptors mediate a positive feedback with respect to ACh release from motor neurons, and therefore plays an important role in the regulation of gut flow [R].

5) Acetylcholine Protects Against Infections

Acetylcholine can modulate inflammatory responses. Acetylcholine was shown to have the ability to inhibit biofilm formation during a fungal infection (Candida albicans). Also, it inhibited inflammation-induced damage to internal organs [R].

6) Acetylcholine Affects Hormone Secretion

Acetylcholine affects pituitary hormone secretion by acting on the hypothalamus. It causes prolactin and growth hormone to secrete from pituitary glands [R].

Cons of Acetylcholine

Depression

Too much acetylcholine is associated with depression [R].

Acetylcholine is Related to Myasthenia Gravis

In myasthenia gravis, antibodies either block, alter, or destroy the receptors for acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, preventing muscle contractions.
It is a defect in the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. However, it is unclear if antibodies against receptors in the brain can directly cause the disease [R].

How to Change Your Levels of Acetylcholine

Increasing Acetylcholine

In order to increase your body’s levels of acetylcholine, you should increase choline levels. Choline can be found in a variety of sources [R].
When it comes to the herbs listed, they increase acetylcholine by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks them down – acetylcholinesterase.  Most common herbs have some inhibitory activity against the enzyme.
  • Foods with Choline (Eggs, Liver)
  • Choline supplements

Stronger:

  • Bacopa (R)
  • Huperzine A
  • Epimedium (R),
  • Caffeine (R),
  • Blueberries (R),
  • Zinc (R),
  • Copper (R),
  • Grape seed Extract (R),
  • Rosemary,
  • Cinnamon (R),
  • Tulsi (R),
  • Gotu Kola (R),

Weaker:

  • EGCG [R].
  • Curcumin [R].
  • Manganese, in the presences of citrate, increases acetylcholine synthesis [R].
  • DHA and dietary fish oils  [R].
  • Luteolin enhances choline, which in turn increases acetylcholine in the body [R].
  • Quercetin (high dose) (R),
  • Fo-ti (R),
  • Ashwagandha,
  • Saffron (R)
  • Reishi (R),
  • Carvacrol (R),
  • Rhodiola (R),
  • Rehmannia (R)/Catalpol (R)
  • Noni (R),
  • Ginkgo,
  • Peppermint,
  • Schisandra (R),
  • Magnesium (potentiates) (R),
  • Andrographis (weak) (R),
  • Fenugreek (R),
  • Melatonin (R),
  • Ginger (R),
  • Danshen (R),
  • Licorice (R),
  • Sulforaphane (R),
  • Ginseng (R),
  • Propolis (R),
  • Muira (R),
  • Insulin (R),
  • Fasting (R),

Decreasing Acetylcholine

A lot of drugs can inhibit acetylcholine, either by imitating it or inhibiting choline [R].
  • Nicotine
  • Forskolin,
  • Kava,
  • Lipoic Acid (in certain situations)
  • Piracetam,
  • Glycine in certain situations (R),
  • Curare
  • Mercury compounds
  • Botulin

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How does cerebral hypoxia cause euphoria?

The mechanism by which the conscious feeling of euphoria is felt is still unknown. Due to the multiple methods by which euphoria can occur it is likely a 'natural' state of the brain that can be triggered either naturally or unnaturally. It is also likely that it occurs in the same brain regions responsible for mood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reward_system You'll note that many of the structures connected to the reward system are glutamatergic interneurons. This means that excess glutamate can trigger the reward system to produce euphoric feelings. In cerebral hypoxia the lack of oxygen results in a lack of energy for the cell. Mainly this results in the switching off of the sodium / potassium pump. A nerve cell fires by moving sodium outside the cell and potassium inside the cell to create concentration gradients, that are then reversed during an action potential. If the pump does not have oxygen then this mechanism stops. This results in an increase in e...
Read more

The secret reason we treat strep throat

Chad Hayes, MD You may have read my recent post about ear infections and how they are over-diagnosed and over-treated. Guess what—ear infections are not alone. Strep throat is another common pediatric infection that is over-diagnosed and over-treated. In adult patients, it’s easy to make a case for not treating it at all. And although kids aren’t just little adults, and the evidence is a little less clear-cut, pediatricians may need to back off, too. I know you already don’t believe me (nor do some of my patients…or my mother), but let me make my case: Group A Streptococcal pharyngitis (which will henceforth be referred to as “strep throat”) is a sore throat caused by a type of bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes. The same organism causes other infections as well, but I’ll focus on the throat. Common symptoms seen with strep throat include sore throat, fever, headache, and nausea. This disease is more common in school-age children and teenagers than it is in adults, but rarely se...
Read more

Does giving paracetamol to lower raised temperature interfere with the body's natural defence response to infection?

Nursing practice often involves procedures or management about which there is debate or uncertainty. In Practice Questions we ask experts to determine how nurses should approach these Practice question: All the nurses I know give paracetamol to lower a raised temperature even when the patient is not distressed. Some actually cause distress by removing blankets from a shivering patient with pyrexia. Surely both these actions are interfering with the body’s natural host defence response to infection? Pyrexia is a common clinical finding in illness, often indicating infection. The body’s immune response triggers heat generating strategies to kill invading bacteria and viruses. Interventions that interfere with this response may be unhelpful, particularly if they actually cause distress to the patient. Physiological response to infection Protective role of pyrexia Increase antibody production; Enhance mobility and function of neutrophils and macrophages (kill bacteria)...
Read more