Developmental changes in heterogeneous patterns of neurotransmitter receptor binding in the human interpeduncular...

The interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) exhibits many complex features, including multiple subnuclei, widespread projections with the forebrain and brainstem, and neurotransmitter heterogeneity. Despite the putative importance of this nucleus, very little is known about its neurochemical development in the human. The human IPN is cytoarchitectonically simple, unlike the rat IPN, which displays considerable heterogeneity. In the following study, we hypothesized that the developing human IPN is neurochemically heterogeneous despite its cytological simplicity. The chemoarchitecture in this study was defined by neurotransmitter receptor binding patterns by using quantitative tissue autoradiography for the muscarinic, nicotinic, serotoninergic, opioid, and kainate receptors. We examined neurotransmitter receptor binding in the developing human IPN in a total of 15 cases. The midbrains of five midgestational fetuses (19-26 gestational weeks) and six infants (38-74 postconceptional weeks) were examined. The midbrain of one child (4 years) and three adults (20-68 years) were analyzed as indices of maturity. At all ages examined, high muscarinic binding was localized to the lateral subdivision of the IPN, high serotoninergic binding was localized to the dorsal IPN, and high opioid receptor binding was localized to the medial IPN. The developmental profile was unique for each radioligand. We report a heterogenous distribution of neurotransmitter receptor binding in the developing human IPN, which supports a complex role for it in human brain function.