Cholinergic agonists and dibutyryl cyclic guanosine monophosphate inhibit the norepinephrine-induced accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in the rat cerebral cortex

Addition of cholinergic agonists, namely carbamylcholine (carbachol), acetylcholine, eserine, eserine plus acetylcholine and eserine plus choline chloride, and dibutyryl cyclic guanosine moue-phosphate inhibited the norepinephrine-induced accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in incubated slices of rat cerebral cortex. Methacholine was ineffective and atropine did not overcome the action of carbachol on the stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate synthesis by norepinephrine. Carbachol stimulated the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate in the tissue slices white norepinephrine did not influence cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels to a significant degree.The data are in keeping with the ‘Yin-Yang’ hypothesis in which under particular situations the intracellular levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate may modulate cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations.