N-methylaspartate: an effective tool for lesioning basal forebrain cholinergic neurons of the rat.
The ability of the excitotoxin, N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid (NMA), to destroy basal forebrain cholinergic (BFC) neurons was evaluated. NMA (100 nmol) was directly injected into the peripallidum, a region containing a proportionately large number of cortically-projecting BFC neurons. Cholineacetyltransferase (ChAT) activity 10 days later was markedly and significantly reduced (up to 62%) in the cortex ipsilateral to the lesion. NMA induced a focal lesion affecting BFC neurons without damaging axons of passage or causing lesions distant from the site of injection. ChAT immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to directly demonstrate loss of ChAT-positive neurons from the lesion site. This loss persisted at all survival times examined, from 2 days to 7.5 months post-injection.
D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D001224:Aspartic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase