Cortical cholinergic projections from the basal forebrain of the rat, with special reference to the prefrontal cortex innervation.
The topographic organization of cells containing choline-acetyltransferase (CAT) and located within the magnocellular nuclei of the basal forebrain was studied by correlating maximum CAT decrease in one or another cortical region with a given localization of the cell lesions. Lesions were made by using ibotenic acid. Lesions affecting the ventral pallidum decreased CAT activity in the antero-medial prefrontal cortex and lesions of the internal and ventral borders of the pallidum decreased CAT activity in sensori-motor and parieto-temporal cortices. None of these lesions produced a decrease of CAT activity in the hippocampus. These results suggest that it is possible to show the presence of a specific cholinergic projection from the basal forebrain to the medial-associative prefrontal cortex of the rat.
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism*; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers; D004027:Diencephalon / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000201:enzymology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D051381:Rats; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000201:enzymology
D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase