In general, the word choline refers to the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium cation. Found in most animal tissues, choline is a primary component of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and functions with inositol as a basic constituent of lecithin. It prevents fat deposits in the liver and facilitates the movement of fats into the cells. The richest sources of choline are liver, kidney, brain, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, and egg yolk. Neurologically, cholinergic is the abbreviated term referring to acetylcholine, (the suffix -ergic means stimulating). The parasympathetic nervous system, which uses acetylcholine almost exclusively to send its messages, is said to be almost entirely cholinergic. Neuromuscular junctions, preganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system, the basal forebrain, and brain stem complexes are also cholinergic. In addition, the receptor for the merocrine sweat glands are also cholinergic, since acetylcholine is released from postganglionic sympathetic neurons.
In neuroscience and related fields, the term cholinergic is used in these related contexts:
As researchers began to focus on neurotransmitter imbalances as a cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cholinergic hypothesis was proposed. The hypothesis states that a possible cause of AD is the reduced synthesis of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in both memory and learning, two important components of AD. Many current drug therapies for AD are centered on the cholinergic hypothesis, although not all have been effective. Studies performed in the 1980s demonstrated significant impairment of cholinergic markers in Alzheimer’s patients.
Thus it was proposed that degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain and the associated loss of cholinergic neurotransmission in the cerebral cortex and other areas contributed significantly to the deterioration in cognitive function seen in patients with Alzheimer’s disease