Recent studies suggest that women are at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease than men and that estrogen replacement can help to reduce the risk and severity of Alzheimer's-related dementia in postmenopausal women. We have hypothesized that the increased risk for Alzheimer's-related dementia is due, in part, to the loss of ovarian function in postmenopausal women and to the effects that decreased levels of ovarian hormones have on basal forebrain cholinergic function. In the present study, the effects of aging and ovariectomy on cholinergic neurons in the rat basal forebrain were examined to determine (1) whether aging differentially affects cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain of males vs females, and (2) whether long-term loss of ovarian function produces deficits in basal forebrain cholinergic function beyond those associated with aging and sex. In part I of the study, gonadally intact male and female rats were sacrificed at 13, 19, and 25 months of age and the effects of aging on cholinergic neurons in the medial septum (MS) and nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) were compared. In part II of the study, female rats were ovariectomized at 13 months of age and then sacrificed 3 and 6 months later along with gonadally intact, age-matched controls. Adjacent sections through the MS and NBM were processed for either immunocytochemical detection of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and p75NTR-like immunoreactivity or forin situhybridization detection and quantification of ChAT and trkA mRNA. Results from part I revealed no significant effects of age on the relative size or density of cholinergic neurons in the MS and NBM of gonadally intact animals. Likewise, no significant effects on the relative numbers of cholinergic neurons expressing p75NTR protein were detected. However, a significant decrease in trkA mRNA was detected in the MS of gonadally intact females, but not males, between 13 and 25 months of age. No significant effects of aging on ChAT mRNA were detected. Results from part II revealed significant decreases in both ChAT and trkA mRNA in the MS and NBM of female rats sacrificed 6 months, but not 3 months, following ovariectomy relative to age-matched, gonadally intact controls. Short-term estrogen replacement initiated 6 months following ovariectomy and administered for 3 days prior to sacrifice partially restored ChAT mRNA levels in the MS and trkA mRNA levels in the NBM. These findings suggest that ovarian hormones play a role in maintaining normal levels of ChAT and trkA expression in the MS and NBM. The fact that ChAT mRNA was decreased in the MS and NBM at 6 months following ovariectomy suggests that long-term loss of ovarian function produces a decrease in the functional status of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons projecting to the hippocampus and cortex. In addition, we hypothesize that the decreases in trkA mRNA detected both in the MS as a function of aging, and in the MS and NBM in response to ovariectomy, reflect decreases in the production of high affinity nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors, and a decrease in the responsiveness of the cholinergic neurons to endogenous NGF. This, in turn, may increase the susceptibility of the cholinergic neurons to the effects of aging and disease and thereby contribute to basal forebrain cholinergic decline. We conclude that long-term loss of ovarian function combined with aging has a negative impact on basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. These effects may contribute to the risk and severity of cognitive decline associated with aging and Alzheimer's disease in postmenopausal women.