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Morphological, biochemical and behaviouralchanges induced by neurotoxic and inflammatory insultsto the nucleus basalis
Author(s) -
Casamenti Fiorella,
Prosperi Costanza,
Scali Carla,
Giovannelli Lisa,
Pepeu Giancarlo
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/s0736-5748(98)00080-x
Subject(s) - nucleus basalis , cholinergic , basal forebrain , cholinergic neuron , neuroscience , nucleus , biology
Interest in the basal forebrain cholinergic system has greatly increased sinceneuropathological studies in humans provided evidence that this system is severely affected in Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders. In laboratory animals, disruption of the nucleusbasalis cholinergic neurones has been produced by several neurotoxic insults in order to obtain amodel reproducing the behavioural impairment related to the cholinergic deficits. The experiments reported in this review demonstrate that excitotoxic amino acids, β ‐amyloid and lipopolysaccharide, injected directly in the nucleus basalis are toxic to thecholinergic neurones in the rat. The excitotoxin lesions of the nucleus basalis, although notselective, are a useful tool for producing experimental animals with cholinergic hypofunction andfor investigating drugs able to ameliorate the cholinergic functions. Local injections of amyloidpeptides in the rat nucleus basalis produced cholinergic hypofunction and some behaviouralimpairment. Finally, an intense glia reaction with a limited cholinergic hypofunction and nobehavioural impairment was induced by a 4‐week infusion of lipopolysaccharide in the nucleusbasalis. In conclusion, all three models, in spite of their limitations, offer useful tools for the studyof the pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimers disease and for investigating potentially usefuldrugs.