Effect of a Rostral Basal Forebrain Lesion on Neuropeptide Containing Neurons in the Rat Cerebral Cortex / 대한해부학회지

ABSTRACT

The present study was designed to elucidate the effects of rostral basal forebrain lesions on neuropeptide containing neurons in the cerebral cortex. Nine male Sprague-Dawley rats[250-300gm] received bilateral injections of ibotenic acid into the basal forebrain[A +0.7mm, L 2.3mm, D 8.6mm] and additional five served as sham operated animals. Brains were removed at 8-14 days after lesioning and frozen coronal sections of 40 micrometer thickness were made. Immunohistochemical staining was performed against the somatostatin[SOM], neuropeptide Y[NPY], and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide[VIP]. No differences were observed in the number of the SOM-immunoreactive[SOM-ir] or NPY-ir neurons between the lesioned and the control groups. Density of the NPY-ir fibers also did not show any significant difference between the two groups. In contrast, the number of VIP-ir neurons in the frontal cortex was significantly reduced following the basal forebrain lesioning. These results suggest the functional relationship between the basal forebrain and the cortical VIP-ir neurons.