Basal Nucleus of Meynert

Enlargement of the telencephalic cortex during phylogenesis is associated with an analogous development of subcortical nuclei, which provide extrathalamic afferents to the cerebral cortex. One of these nuclei belonging to the magnocellular complex of the basal forebrain is the basal nucleus of Meynert, which is embedded in the substantia innominata (Ulfig 1989). This nucleus provides the major source of the cholinergic afferents to virtually all areas of the cerebral cortex.