Histamine-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the rat brain.

A new immunohistochemical method that utilizes carbodiimide as a tissue fixative was applied to study the distribution of histamine-immunoreactive neuronal fibers and terminals in the rat brain. Immunoreactive fibers were observed in almost all major regions of the brain. They were most numerous in the different hypothalamic nuclei. Dense networks of immunoreactive fibers were also seen in the medial septum, nucleus of the diagonal band and ventral tegmental area. A moderate density of fibers was seen throughout the cerebral cortex, in some parts of the olfactory bulb and tubercle, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, amygdala, basal parts of the hippocampus, inferior and superior colliculi, substantia nigra, lateral and medial parabrachial nucleus, and the nucleus of the solitary tract. Few histamine-immunoreactive fibers were seen in most parts of the caudate putamen, most thalamic nuclei, most pontine and ventral medullary nuclei. Histamine-immunoreactive neuronal cell bodies were found exclusively in the tuberomammillary nucleus, in agreement with previous reports. The results provide evidence for a widespread distribution of histamine-containing nerve fibers and terminals in the rat brain. Although immunohistochemical localization of histamine does not give direct evidence of a functional role of histamine in any brain area, this distribution suggests involvement in functions of the limbic system including the septal nuclei, hypothalamus and amygdala. The relatively dense histamine-immunoreactive fiber networks in the colliculi and dorsal cochlear nucleus indicate that this amine may play a role in visual functions and hearing. The paucity of immunoreactive fibers in the pontine and medullary areas suggests that the caudal projections originating from the tuberomammillary complex are minor ones compared to the major rostral projections. Several fiber projections originating from the tuberomammillary complex could be deduced from serial frontal, sagittal and horizontal sections. They contained fibers that crossed the midline at several levels of the brain. The results provide information on the target areas of the histaminergic neurons and form a basis for the examination of cellular contracts between the histaminergic neurons and other cells.