A common system of sparsely-branched projection (reticular) NADPH-diaphorase neurons in formations of densely-branched cells in the human forebrain

Abstract

Morphometric studies of human forebrain formations composed of densely branched cells - the entorhinal cortex, the basolateral amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, the striatum, and the dorsal thalamus - were performed using nine parameters, with statistical analysis of the resulting data; measurements addressed the major projection-type densely branched and sparsely branched reticular neurons (scattered reticular and marginal reticular cells of the dorsal thalamus) stained by the Golgi method and with NADPH-diaphorase. Scattered reticular cells in the various formations showed no differences in any of the nine measures, while there were significant differences (in 5-7 measures, apart from one comparison, where there were differences in two measures) in their major projection-type densely branched cells. Scattered reticular and main projection-type densely branched neurons in each formation differed in terms of 7-9 measures. In endbrain formations, scattered reticular neurons contained NADPH-diaphorase; in the dorsal thalamus, only intermediate marginal reticular neurons were NADPH-diaphorase-positive. Thus, these human formations contained a common system of ancient integrative NADPH-diaphorase-containing reticular cells. Our results, along with published data, show these to be projection-type cells with projections to layers V and VI of the neocortex, which suggests that they have modulatory influences on its descending systems.