Effects of chronic alcohol consumption on the cholinergic innervation of the rat hippocampal formation as revealed by choline acetyltransferase immunocytochemistry.

The specific aim of this study was to evaluate whether the cholingeric innervation of the hippocampal formation is affected by chronic alcohol consumption in the rat. Choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive fibres and neurons were analysed in both alcohol-fed and control rats using a monoclonal antibody against choline acetyltransferase and quantitative methods. We found a global reduction in the cholinergic plexus, which was more pronounced in the hippocampus proper than in the dentate gyrus. The areal density of choline acetyltransferase immunoreactive neurons was also reduced. Differences from controls in neuronal number were particularly striking in the stratum lacunosum moleculare of the regio superior, which is precisely the zone of the hippocampal formation where choline acetyltransferase immunoreactive neurons are more abundant in controls. In conclusion, our results show that prolonged ethanol consumption leads to a substantial reduction in the cholinergic innervation of the hippocampal formation, as there was a loss of cholinergic fibres and also an apparent loss of hippocampal cholingeric neurons. These findings may help to explain the cognitive dysfunctions observed after chronic alcohol consumption.