CHEMICAL TRANSMISSION OF THE EFFECTS OF NERVE IMPULSES

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Abstract
The article is a concise summary of the important findings leading to the concept of chemical transmission of nerve impulses. With a few exceptions experiments indicate that the parasympathetic nerves liberate a substance very similar to, if not, acetylcholine and that the sympathetic nerves liberate adrenaline or some closely related substance. The cholinergic type of transmission receives particular attention. It has been found that eserine prevents the immediate destruction of the parasympathetic substance by blood enzymes so that sufficient amounts can be collected for study. Numerous physiological tests make the identification of the parasympathetic substance as acetylcholine practically certain. The substance has 2 general effects depending on the tissue involved, a muscarine effect on plain muscles and a nicotine effect on striated muscles. Acetylcholine likewise has been found in the suprarenal veins after stimulation of the splanchnics and in the sympathetic ganglia after stimulation of the preganglionic fibres. A diagram is given indicating the distribution of the adrenergic and cholinergic mechanisms as presently conceived.

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