Kinetics of Chemical Processes in the Human Brain. Proton Blockade of Acetylcholinesterase and pH-Impulse in the Mechanism of Functioning of the Cholinergic Synapse

Abstract

A kinetic model describing the dynamics of synaptic "discharge" taking into account the kinetics of the injection of the neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft, the pH-dependence of the catalytic activity of the enzyme, and diffusion withdrawal of protons is proposed. The model provides a physicochemical explanation for a number of important physiological phenomena, such as the neuromuscular paralysis, the molecular mechanism of neurological memory, and the effect of some neurotoxins and drugs.

Keywords: acetylcholine; acetylcholinesterase; catalytic activity of enzyme; cholinergic synapse; dynamics of the process; human brain; kinetic model; neuromuscular junction; synaptic cleft.