Ontogeny of the rat striatum: correspondence of dopamine terminals, opiate receptors and acetylcholinesterase.

The ontogeny of dopamine terminals, mu opiate receptors and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in rat striatum were examined during the first two weeks postnatally using fluorescence histochemistry, autoradiography and AChE stain, respectively. The most dense regions of all three markers were superimposable, particularly in the dorsal third of the striatum, as long as the dense regions could be clearly visualized. This anatomic overlapping of markers for three neuronal systems suggests an important and distinct relationship between these neuronal systems during development in addition to that already seen in adult tissue.