Cells with varicose dendrites: a characteristic type of neurons in Golgi preparations of the rat cholinergic basal forebrain nuclei.

Golgi preparations reveal that in the basal forebrain nuclei composed of medial septal nucleus, diagonal band, nucleus preopticus magnocellularis and substantia innominata including nucleus basalis magnocellularis of Meynert, the most frequently impregnated type of neuron is medium to large sized with long smooth or sparsely spined varicose dendrites. Some indications implying the cholinergic nature of those cells are discussed.