Editing Acetylcholine (section)

===Central nervous system===
[[File:Nucleus basalis of Meynert - intermed mag.jpg|thumb|right|[[Micrograph]] of the [[nucleus basalis]] (of Meynert), which produces acetylcholine in the CNS. [[LFB stain|LFB-HE stain]].]]
In the central nervous system, ACh has a variety of effects on plasticity, arousal and [[reward system|reward]]. ACh has an important role in the enhancement of alertness when we wake up,<ref name="pmid16183137">{{cite journal | vauthors = [[Barbara E. Jones|Jones BE]] | title = From waking to sleeping: neuronal and chemical substrates | journal = Trends Pharmacol. Sci. | volume = 26 | issue = 11 | pages = 578–86 | date = November 2005 | pmid = 16183137 | doi = 10.1016/j.tips.2005.09.009 }}</ref> in sustaining attention <ref name="pmid10808142">{{cite journal | vauthors = Himmelheber AM, Sarter M, Bruno JP | title = Increases in cortical acetylcholine release during sustained attention performance in rats | journal = Brain Res Cogn Brain Res | volume = 9 | issue = 3 | pages = 313–25 | date = June 2000 | pmid = 10808142 | doi = 10.1016/S0926-6410(00)00012-4 }}</ref> and in learning and [[memory]].<ref name="pmid6431311">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ridley RM, Bowes PM, Baker HF, Crow TJ | title = An involvement of acetylcholine in object discrimination learning and memory in the marmoset | journal = Neuropsychologia | volume = 22 | issue = 3 | pages = 253–63 | date = 1984 | pmid = 6431311 | doi = 10.1016/0028-3932(84)90073-3  | s2cid = 7110504 }}</ref>

Damage to the cholinergic (acetylcholine-producing) system in the brain has been shown to be associated with the memory deficits associated with [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref name="pmid10071091">{{cite journal | vauthors = Francis PT, Palmer AM, Snape M, Wilcock GK | title = The cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease: a review of progress | journal = J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry | volume = 66 | issue = 2 | pages = 137–47 | date = February 1999 | pmid = 10071091 | pmc = 1736202 | doi = 10.1136/jnnp.66.2.137  }}</ref> ACh has also been shown to promote [[Rapid eye movement sleep|REM]] sleep.<ref name="pmid21238497">{{cite journal | vauthors = Platt B, Riedel G | title = The cholinergic system, EEG and sleep | journal = Behav. Brain Res. | volume = 221 | issue = 2 | pages = 499–504 | date = August 2011 | pmid = 21238497 | doi = 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.01.017  | s2cid = 25323695 }}</ref>

In the brainstem acetylcholine originates from the [[Pedunculopontine nucleus]] and [[laterodorsal tegmental nucleus]] collectively known as the meso[[pontine tegmentum]] area or pontomesencephalotegmental complex.<ref name="Woolf">{{cite journal | vauthors = Woolf NJ, Butcher LL | title = Cholinergic systems in the rat brain: III. Projections from the pontomesencephalic tegmentum to the thalamus, tectum, basal ganglia, and basal forebrain | journal = Brain Res. Bull. | volume = 16 | issue = 5 | pages = 603–37 | date = May 1986 | pmid = 3742247 | doi = 10.1016/0361-9230(86)90134-6 | s2cid = 39665815 }}</ref><ref name="Woolf89">{{cite journal | vauthors = Woolf NJ, Butcher LL | title = Cholinergic systems in the rat brain: IV. Descending projections of the pontomesencephalic tegmentum | journal = Brain Res. Bull. | volume = 23 | issue = 6 | pages = 519–40 | date = December 1989 | pmid = 2611694 | doi = 10.1016/0361-9230(89)90197-4 | s2cid = 4721282 }}</ref> In the basal forebrain, it originates from the [[basal optic nucleus of Meynert|basal nucleus of Meynert]] and medial [[septal nucleus]]:
* The ''pontomesencephalotegmental complex'' acts mainly on [[M1 receptor]]s in the [[brainstem]], deep [[cerebellar nuclei]], [[pontine nuclei]], [[locus coeruleus]], [[raphe nucleus]], [[lateral reticular nucleus]] and [[inferior olive]].<ref name="Woolf89"/> It also projects to the [[thalamus]], [[tectum]], [[basal ganglia]] and [[basal forebrain]].<ref name="Woolf"/>
* [[Basal optic nucleus of Meynert|Basal nucleus of Meynert]] acts mainly on [[M1 receptor]]s in the [[neocortex]].
* Medial [[septal nucleus]] acts mainly on [[M1 receptor]]s in the [[hippocampus]] and parts of the [[cerebral cortex]].

In addition, ACh acts as an important internal transmitter in the [[striatum]], which is part of the [[basal ganglia]]. It is released by cholinergic [[interneurons]]. In humans, non-human primates and rodents, these interneurons respond to salient environmental stimuli with responses that are temporally aligned with the responses of dopaminergic neurons of the [[substantia nigra]].<ref name="pmid21925242">{{cite journal | vauthors = Goldberg JA, Reynolds JN | title = Spontaneous firing and evoked pauses in the tonically active cholinergic interneurons of the striatum | journal = Neuroscience | volume = 198 | pages = 27–43 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 21925242 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.08.067  | s2cid = 21908514 }}</ref><ref name="pmid15233923">{{cite journal | vauthors = Morris G, Arkadir D, Nevet A, Vaadia E, Bergman H | title = Coincident but distinct messages of midbrain dopamine and striatal tonically active neurons | journal = Neuron | volume = 43 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–43 | date = July 2004 | pmid = 15233923 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.06.012 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Memory====
Acetylcholine has been implicated in [[learning]] and [[memory]] in several ways. The anticholinergic drug [[scopolamine]] impairs acquisition of new information in humans<ref name="pmid4793334">{{cite journal | vauthors = Crow TJ, Grove-White IG | title = An analysis of the learning deficit following hyoscine administration to man | journal = Br. J. Pharmacol. | volume = 49 | issue = 2 | pages = 322–7 | date = October 1973 | pmid = 4793334 | pmc = 1776392 | doi = 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1973.tb08379.x  }}</ref> and animals.<ref name="pmid6431311"/> In animals, disruption of the supply of acetylcholine to the [[neocortex]] impairs the learning of simple discrimination tasks, comparable to the acquisition of factual information<ref name="pmid3087582">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ridley RM, Murray TK, Johnson JA, Baker HF | title = Learning impairment following lesion of the basal nucleus of Meynert in the marmoset: modification by cholinergic drugs | journal = Brain Res. | volume = 376 | issue = 1 | pages = 108–16 | date = June 1986 | pmid = 3087582 | doi = 10.1016/0006-8993(86)90904-2  | s2cid = 29182517 }}</ref> and disruption of the supply of acetylcholine to the [[hippocampus]] and adjacent cortical areas produces forgetfulness, comparable to [[anterograde amnesia]] in humans.<ref name="pmid12050084">{{cite journal | vauthors = Easton A, Ridley RM, Baker HF, Gaffan D | title = Unilateral lesions of the cholinergic basal forebrain and fornix in one hemisphere and inferior temporal cortex in the opposite hemisphere produce severe learning impairments in rhesus monkeys | journal = Cereb. Cortex | volume = 12 | issue = 7 | pages = 729–36 | date = July 2002 | pmid = 12050084 | doi = 10.1093/cercor/12.7.729 | doi-access = free }}</ref>