Cholinergic but not monoaminergic denervation increases nerve growth factor content in the adult rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

We have investigated whether degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons is a potential trigger for increased NGF production in the adult rat brain. Electrolytic lesions of cholinergic neurons in the septum-diagonal band and in the nucleus basalis of Meynert induced a transient increase in NGF in the ventral hippocampus (+70%) and cerebral cortex (+125%), respectively. In contrast, selective aminergic denervation of the forebrain by electrolytic lesion of the medial forebrain bundle, did not increase NGF levels in hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Thus, a cholinergic mechanism appears to regulate NGF production in adult rat basal forebrain.