Transient patterns of acetylcholinesterase activity in developing thalamus: a comparative study in rodents.

This paper describes acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the dorsal thalamus of several rodents, including rat, mouse, gerbil, hamster and guinea pig. Tissue from fetal, neonatal, and adult animals was studied using histochemical techniques. Developing animals of all species display prominent AChE staining in the ventral medial geniculate nucleus and the ventral posterior nucleus, while adult animals show very light staining in these thalamic regions. Similarly, the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of all species shows stronger staining in developing animals than in adults. These data indicate that transient expression of AChE activity in primary sensory thalamic nuclei is a characteristic common to a variety of rodents.