Mesulam M M, Mash D, Hersh L, Bothwell M, Geula C
Bullard and Denny-Brown Laboratories, Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Neurology, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
J Comp Neurol. 1992 Sep 8;323(2):252-68. doi: 10.1002/cne.903230209.
The anatomical organization of cholinergic markers such as acetylcholinesterase, choline acetyltransferase, and nerve growth factor receptors was investigated in the basal ganglia of the human brain. The distribution of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive axons and varicosities and their relationship to regional perikarya showed that the caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, red nucleus, and subthalamic nucleus of the human brain receive widespread cholinergic innervation. Components of the striatum (i.e., the putamen, caudate, olfactory tubercle, and nucleus accumbens) displayed the highest density of cholinergic varicosities. The next highest density of cholinergic innervation was detected in the red nucleus and subthalamic nucleus. The level of cholinergic innervation was of intermediate density in the globus pallidus and the ventral tegmental area and low in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. Immunoreactivity for nerve growth factor receptors (NGFr) was confined to the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain and their processes. Axonal immunoreactivity for NGFr was therefore used as a marker for cholinergic projections originating from the basal forebrain (Woolf et al., '89: Neuroscience 30:143-152). Although the vast majority of striatal cholinergic innervation was NGFr-negative and, therefore, intrinsic, the striatum also contained NGFr-positive axons, indicating the existence of an additional cholinergic input from the basal forebrain. This basal forebrain cholinergic innervation was more pronounced in the putamen than in the caudate. The distribution of NGFr-positive axons suggested that the basal forebrain may also project to the globus pallidus but probably not to the subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, or red nucleus. The great majority of cholinergic innervation to these latter three structures and to parts of the globus pallidus appeared to come from cholinergic neurons outside the basal forebrain, most of which are probably located in the upper brainstem. These observations indicate that cholinergic neurotransmission originating from multiple sources is likely to play an important role in the diverse motor and behavioral affiliations that have been attributed to the human basal ganglia.
研究了乙酰胆碱酯酶、胆碱乙酰转移酶和神经生长因子受体等胆碱能标志物在人脑基底神经节中的解剖结构。胆碱乙酰转移酶免疫反应性轴突和膨体的分布及其与区域神经元胞体的关系表明，人脑的尾状核、壳核、伏隔核、嗅结节、苍白球、黑质、红核和丘脑底核接受广泛的胆碱能神经支配。纹状体的组成部分（即壳核、尾状核、嗅结节和伏隔核）显示出胆碱能膨体的最高密度。胆碱能神经支配的次高密度出现在红核和丘脑底核。胆碱能神经支配水平在苍白球和腹侧被盖区为中等密度，在黑质致密部为低密度。神经生长因子受体（NGFr）的免疫反应性局限于基底前脑的胆碱能神经元及其突起。因此，NGFr的轴突免疫反应性被用作源自基底前脑的胆碱能投射的标志物（伍尔夫等人），《神经科学》30:143 - 152）。虽然绝大多数纹状体胆碱能神经支配是NGFr阴性的，因此是内在的，但纹状体也含有NGFr阳性轴突，表明存在来自基底前脑的额外胆碱能输入。这种基底前脑胆碱能神经支配在壳核中比在尾状核中更明显。NGFr阳性轴突的分布表明，基底前脑也可能投射到苍白球，但可能不投射到丘脑底核、黑质或红核。对后三个结构和部分苍白球的绝大多数胆碱能神经支配似乎来自基底前脑以外的胆碱能神经元，其中大多数可能位于脑桥上部。这些观察结果表明，源自多个来源的胆碱能神经传递可能在归因于人类基底神经节的多种运动和行为联系中发挥重要作用。
