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A population of very small striatal neurons in the cat displays vasoactive intestinal polypeptide immunoreactivity
1Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Abstract:
Cells displaying vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) immunoreactivity were demonstrated in the feline striatum using a monoclonal antibody raised against natural porcine VIP. The VIP-immunoreactive neurons in the cat striatum were very small, (8 microns diameter) bipolar and multipolar cells. The VIP-positive neurons were more numerous than the cholinergic neurons but less common than the somatostatin-immunoreactive cells in the cat caudate-putamen. The VIP-immunoreactive cells were localized predominantly in the striatal matrix and tended to avoid enkephalin-immunoreactive patches. Thus VIP-immunoreactive cells comprise another neurochemically defined neuronal population which appears to observe striosomal organization.