Distribution of cholinergic receptors in the rat and human neocortex

Autoradiographic labelling of muscarinic (M1, M2, NMS binding sites) and nicotinic receptors shows an inhomogeneous distribution over architectonically identified cortical areas of the rat brain with highest concentrations in the medial prefrontal and frontal areas. Beside this general trend the areal patterns of different receptors are slightly varying. The laminar distribution of these receptors in the rat and human neocortex is characterized by two different patterns, one with highest receptor densities in the supragranular layers (M1 receptors, NMS binding sites), the other with a preferential labelling of layer IV and (with a lower intensity) layer V (M2 and nicotinic receptors). M1 receptors and NMS binding sites are codistributed at the laminar level with each other and with GABAA, D1, 5-HT1 and glutamate receptors; M2 receptors are codistributed only with nicotinic receptors. Immuno-histochemical studies with antibodies against muscarinic and nicotinic receptors demonstrate that these structures occur mainly in pyramidal and spiny stellate cells and to a lesser extent (13%) in a variety of interneurons. The immunoreactivity is visible in the perikaryon, dendrites and postsynaptic membranes. Neurons are found in the human neocortex, which react exclusively with one of the two antibodies, but a fraction of the neurons (about 30%) contains antigenic sites reacting with both antibodies. This is interpreted as colocalization of nicotinic and muscarinic receptors in some cortical neurons.