Acetylcholine facilitation, atropine block of synaptic excitation of cortical neurons.

Sinigle neurons in cat visual cortex were driven by afferent stimuli to determine the effects of drugs liberated from multibarreled micropipettes on synaptic transmission. Acetylcholine increased, and atropine decreased, the number of neuron discharges fired in response to stimulation of the mesencephalic reticular formation without necessarily affecting responses to other stimuli or affecting spontaneous firing.