Basal optic nucleus of Meynert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brain: Basal optic nucleus of Meynert | ||
|---|---|---|
| Latin | n. basalis telencephali | |
| NeuroNames | hier-257 | |
| MeSH | Basal+nucleus+of+Meynert | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | n_11/12580484 | |
In the lateral part of the tuber cinereum is a nucleus of nerve cells, the basal optic nucleus of Meynert.
The basal nucleus of Meynert (NBM) is a group of nerve cells in the substantia innominata that has wide projections to the neocortex and is rich in acetylcholine and choline acetyltransferase. In Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases the nucleus undergoes degeneration. A decrease in acetylcholine production is seen in Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and some Parkinson Disease patients showing abnormal brain function, leading to a general decrease of mental capacity and learning. Most pharmacological treatments of dementia focus on compensating for a faltering NBM function through artificially increasing acetylcholine levels.
The primary concentration of cholinergic neurons/cell bodies that project to the neocortex are in the basal nucleus of Meynert which is located in the substantia innominata of the anterior perforated substance.
[edit] External links
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
 |
This neuroscience article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
