Distribution of Neuropeptides in the Human Lower Brainstem (Pons and Medulla Oblongata)

Abstract

In recent years, many publications have described the distribution of neuropeptides in the brainstem of various species but much less information is available about the human brainstem. Mapping of neuropeptides in the human brain by immunohistochemical techniques is more difficult than in experimental animals. Differences in the post mortem, delay, as well as the in fixation of the brains for immunohistochemistry result in inconsistent outcomes. Comparable data are scarce and hard to be confined to one or two neuropeptides in individual cases. Studies have addressed the distribution of substance P (Nomura et al., 1987; Halliday et al., 1988b; Pioro et al, 1990), neuropeptide Y (Halliday et al., 1988a; Chan-Palay et al., 1990), enkephalin (Emson et al., 1980; Pioro et al., 1990), cholecystokinin (Bouras et al., 1986), neurotensin (Mai et al., 1987), calcitonin gene-related peptide (Unger and Lange, 1991) and somatostatin (Mengod et al., 1992) in the human lower brainstem.