Lewis D A
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Neuroscience. 1991;40(2):363-74. doi: 10.1016/0306-4522(91)90126-9.
Cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis of Meynert project to numerous regions of the cerebral cortex. However, little is known about the regional and laminar distributions of cholinergic axons in monkey frontal cortex. In this study, immunohistochemical techniques were used to identify axons that were immunoreactive for choline acetyltransferase, the enzyme that catalyses the synthesis of acetylcholine, in the frontal cortex of cynomolgus monkeys. Motor cortex contained the greatest density of labeled fibers: the density of labeled fibers was lower in premotor and anterior cingulate cortices and lower still in the association regions of prefrontal cortex. On a laminar basis, choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive axons were most dense in layer I to superficial layer III. Layer V also contained a distinct band of labeled fibers that was particularly prominent in the agranular regions of frontal cortex. The density of labeled fibers was much lower in the deep portion of layer III to layer IV and in layer VI. These findings demonstrate a specific and regionally distinctive cholinergic innervation of monkey frontal cortex that may reveal the anatomical basis for the influence of acetylcholine on the diverse functions of primate frontal cortex.
梅纳特基底核的胆碱能神经元投射至大脑皮质的多个区域。然而，关于猴额叶皮质中胆碱能轴突的区域和分层分布，我们所知甚少。在本研究中，我们运用免疫组织化学技术，在食蟹猴的额叶皮质中鉴定出对胆碱乙酰转移酶呈免疫反应的轴突，胆碱乙酰转移酶是催化乙酰胆碱合成的酶。运动皮质中标记纤维的密度最高：运动前区和前扣带回皮质中标记纤维的密度较低，而前额叶皮质联合区中标记纤维的密度更低。在分层方面，胆碱乙酰转移酶免疫反应性轴突在I层至浅层III层最为密集。V层也含有一条明显的标记纤维带，在额叶皮质的无颗粒区尤为突出。在III层深部至IV层以及VI层中，标记纤维的密度要低得多。这些发现表明，猴额叶皮质存在特定且区域独特的胆碱能神经支配，这可能揭示了乙酰胆碱对灵长类额叶皮质多种功能产生影响的解剖学基础。
