Acetylcholine was first identified by Henry Dale in 1914, and was shown to be a neurotransmitter in 1921 in Otto Loewi's classic experiment, using two 🐸hearts - an experiment that allegedly came to him in a dream
Which was the first neurotransmitter to be discovered?
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The 1st ♥️ remained connected to the vagus nerve, and was placed in a saline-filled chamber. This chamber was connected to a 2nd chamber that contained the 2nd 💙. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve caused the 1st ♥️ to slow, and after a delay, the 2nd 💙 slowed too.
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Loewi hypothesized that electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve released a chemical into the fluid of the 1st chamber that flowed into the second chamber. He called this chemical (acetylcholine) "Vagusstoff"
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@npp_journal
Little tidbit. After dreaming of it, he wrote a note about the dream and went back to sleep. In the morning he was aghast because he couldnt read his writing. The next night he had the same dream but instead of writing it down, went and performed the experiment immediately.
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