title: Quantitative analysis of glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the anterior thalamus of the human brain.
abstract: Local circuit neurons in the human anterior thalamus (AT) were identified on the basis of glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity (GAD-IR). GAD-IR neurons of the AT displayed small diameter somas with thin, sparsely-branching dendrites, consistent with the morphological characteristics of local circuit neurons found in the thalami of other mammals. Sampling techniques revealed an average of 42% of all neurons within the AT were GAD-IR, one of the highest reported percentages of local circuit neurons in the mammalian thalamus. The presence of high proportion of local circuit neurons in the AT may indicate the extent to which the Papez circuit has evolved within the human brain in comparison to other mammals.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders, 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia. gavind@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Harper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020643:Anterior Thalamic Nuclei / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D000906:Antibodies; D002452:Cell Count; D048429:Cell Size; D005260:Female; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007395:Interneurons / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase