Activities of enzymes of the cholinergic systems in the guinea pig cochlea.

Abstract

Using radiochemical assays activities of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase, the 2 basic enzymes of cholinergic systems, were measured in microtubes for samples of tissue dissected from freeze-dried cochleas. The organ of Corti had much higher activities of both enzymes than did the other cochlear regions. There was considerable scatter in measured enzyme activities among samples from inner and outer hair cell regions of most cochlear turns.