Circadian variations in cholinergic enzymes and muscarinic receptor binding in human cerebral cortex.
The cholinergic enzymes, choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase, and the muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding, measured in autopsy human brain, undergo significant variations in activity which are related to the time of death. Although certain similarities between the circadian rhythms are apparent, there is some evidence that the amplitude and phases of the changes in the three cholinergic components differ. It is suggested that the interrelationships between the circadian phases of the cholinergic system may be of importance in disorders of cerebral function and that circadian variation is a significant factor in the study of post-mortem brain biochemistry.
Perry
E K
EK
Department of Neuropathology, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain.
Perry
R H
RH
Tomlinson
B E
BE