Topographic distributions of monoamine oxidase-B-containing neurons in the mouse striatum.

We have recently documented the presence of cholinergic neurons containing monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B activity in the striatum of C57BL/6 mouse. In the present study, we have mapped the topographical distributions of MAO-containing neurons in the mouse striatum. Positive neurons were located in the striatum of the entire rostralcaudal extent. However, the distribution of MAO-containing neurons was not uniform in the striatum. The larger number of positive neurons were located in the dorsal region of the C57BL/6 mouse striatum, in contrast to the uniform distributions of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons in the mouse striatum. The present results suggest that cholinergic neurons are functionally heterogenous in the mouse striatum.