The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor as a molecular machine for neuromuscular transmission

•The muscle nAChR converts nerve released ACh into an electrical signal.•Agonist binding at the extracellular domain is translated into channel opening.•Single-channel recordings combined with kinetic analysis have revealed mechanistic basis of channel activation.•Changes in nAChR kinetics lead to diseases.•nAChR is the target of clinically used muscle relaxants and a variety of inhibitory compounds.