Distribution of choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity in the telencephalon of the lizard Gekko gecko.

The presumptive cholinergic elements in the telencephalon of the lizard Gekko gecko were demonstrated with the AB8 anti-choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) antibody. Somata positive for ChAT were observed in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, the dorsal ventricular ridge, nucleus olfactorius anterior, tuberculum olfactorium, diagonal band of Broca, septum, bed nucleus of the medial forebrain bundle and lateral preoptic area. Staining of the neuropil was most conspicuous in the striatum but also occurred in the medial cortex and nucleus septi impar. The results indicate that the distribution of ChAT-positive somata in the telencephalon in reptiles is comparable to that in mammals; however, the relation of cholinergic somata and ChAT-positive neuropil seen in the striatum of G. gecko is different from that in mammals.