What neurotransmitter is crucial for learning and memory and also facilitates muscle contraction?

Acetylcholine plays a vital role in both learning and memory as well as facilitating muscle contraction. In the brain, acetylcholine is essential for encoding new information and is involved in attention and arousal processes, making it a key player in cognitive functions. Its influence in the hippocampus, a region associated with memory formation, underscores its importance in learning.

Moreover, acetylcholine is also critical in the peripheral nervous system, where it is the neurotransmitter responsible for transmitting signals from motor neurons to skeletal muscles. This enables voluntary muscle contraction, allowing for movement and coordination. This dual role in both the central and peripheral nervous systems highlights how acetylcholine is integral not only for cognitive functions but also for physical actions.

Glutamate primarily acts as the main excitatory neurotransmitter involved in synaptic plasticity and is crucial for long-term potentiation, a mechanism associated with learning and memory. However, it does not facilitate muscle contraction. Substance P is mainly involved in pain perception, and endorphins act as natural painkillers and mood enhancers; they do not play a significant role in the processes of learning, memory, or muscle contraction in the same way that acetylcholine does.