Recently, it has been suggested that acetylcholine disruption may be a primary cause of depression.
It was later found that this chemical corresponded to Acetylcholine (Kandel, et al. 2000).
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor | Acetylcholine | acetylcholine |
This pathway consists of agrin, muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK), acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and the AChR-clustering protein rapsyn, encoded by the RAPSN gene.
The presynaptic terminal bouton is filled with vesicles containing acetylcholine and a neuropeptide called Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).
In a collaborative study with the electron microscopist George Gray from University College London, Victor P. Whittaker eventually showed that the acetylcholine-rich particles derived from guinea-pig cerebral cortex were synaptic vesicle-rich pinched-off nerve terminals.