INTRAVENTRICULAR APPLICATION OF BDNF AND NT-3 FAILED TO PROTECT NUCLEUS BASALIS MAGNOCELLULARIS CHOLINERGIC NEURONS

QUANTITATIVE analysis of ChAT immunoreactive neurones was used to eval uate the protective potential of BDNF or NT-3 against retrograde chang es in nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm) cholinergic neurones after unilateral partial devascularization of the rat neocortex. A daily in tracerebroventricular dose of 12 mu g, proven to be effective for NGF and aFGF in the same experimental paradigm, was administered by minipu mp infusion for a 1-week period. Thirty days after lesioning, neuronal shrinkage and loss of neuritic processes were not prevented by treatm ent. The results indicate that intracerebroventricularly delivered BDN F and NT-3 are not as effective as NGF and aFGF in protection of nbm c holinergic neurones against lesion-induced changes in adult rat brain.