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Selective loss of inhibitory neurons in the cerebral cortex in motor neuron disease
Author(s) -
Maekawa S.,
Cotter D.,
Leigh N.,
AlSarraj S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
neuropathology and applied neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.538
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1365-2990
pISSN - 0305-1846
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2990.2002.39286_5.x
Subject(s) - parvalbumin , neuroscience , gabaergic , motor cortex , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , calretinin , primary motor cortex , cerebral cortex , cortex (anatomy) , supplementary motor area , frontal lobe , calbindin , biology , prefrontal cortex , medicine , pathology , immunohistochemistry , functional magnetic resonance imaging , cognition , stimulation
Motor neuron disease (MND) is characterized by selective loss of upper and lower motor neurons, although other CNS regions may also be affected (Abrahams et al . Brain 1996; 119 : 2105; Lloyd et al . Brain 2000; 123 : 2289). We previously demonstrated reduced neuronal density within extra‐motor cortical areas associated with astrocytic and microglial activation. We have now explored whether selective loss of inhibitory (GABAergic) neurones occurs in MND. Material and methods: The density of inhibitory interneurons immunoreactive for the calcium‐binding proteins calbindin‐D 28K (CB), calretinin (CR), and parvalbumin (PV) was determined via quantitative image analysis in the primary motor cortex (PMC; Brodmann's area 4) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; Brodmann's area 9) from 13 MND and eight control cases, matched for age and postmortem interval. Results: There was a significant reduction in CB‐+ve densities within lamina II of both area 4 and 9 in MND (Wilk's lambda multivariate test: P = 0.003). However, post hoc comparisons of individual regions showed that these changes were only significant in area 9 ( P = 0.046). PV‐+ve densities within cortical layer VI were significantly reduced in MND in both regions ( P = 0.015), whereas the multivariate test showed no significant difference within the two regions ( P = 0.951). Conclusions: These findings reveal a selective loss in the density of subpopulations of GABAergic neurons in PMC and DLPFC in MND.