DISTRIBUTION OF CALBINDIN D-28K AND PARVALBUMIN NEURONS AND FIBERS INTHE RAT BASAL GANGLIA

This review deals with the distribution of immunoreactivity for calbin din D-28k (CB) and parvalbumin (PV) in the different nuclei of the rod ent basal ganglia analyzed with the data available after the use of si ngle and double antigen procedures applied to single sections. These f indings reveal that CB and PV are distributed according to a highly he terogeneous pattern in the caudate putamen complex (CPu), globus palli dus (GP), entopeduncular nucleus (EP), subthalamic nucleus (STh) and s ubstantia nigra (SN) of the rat. In each basal ganglia structure, the two calcium-binding proteins label different neuronal subsets. Therefo re, the use of CB and PV immunohistochemistry may be considered as an excellent tool to define distinct chemoarchitectonic and functional do mains within the complex organization of the basal ganglia. Double imm unohistochemical methods are also useful to illustrate the relationshi ps between the different chemical subdivisions of the CPU, GP, EP, STh and SN and the chemically characterized connections with each other a nd with other forebrain and brainstem structures. However, specific ru les should be followed when combining single and double immunostaining procedures, and the results of such studies must be evaluated with ca ution. When they are used properly, these methods can reveal hitherto unknown principles of organization of the basal ganglia and thus shed new light on the anatomical and functional organization of this set of subcortical structures involved in the control of motor behavior. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.