To investigate whether differences in vulnerability to free radicals might underlie differences among striatal neurons in their vulnerability to neurodegenerative processes such as occur in ischemia and Huntington's disease, we have analyzed the localization of superoxide free radical scavengers in different striatal neuron types in normal rhesus monkey. Single- and double-label immunohistochemical experiments were carried out using antibodies against the enzymes copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), or manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2), and against markers of various striatal cell types. Our results indicate that the striatal cholinergic and parvalbumin interneurons are enriched in SOD1 and/or SOD2, whereas striatal projection neurons and neuropeptide Y/somatostatin (NPY+/SS+) interneurons express only low levels of both SOD1 and SOD2. We also found that projection neurons of the matrix compartment express significantly higher levels of SOD than those in the striosome compartment. Since projection neurons have been reported to be more vulnerable than interneurons and striosome neurons more vulnerable than matrix neurons to neurodegenerative processes, our results are consistent with the notion that superoxide free radicals are at least partly involved in producing the differential neuron loss observed in the striatum following global brain ischemia or in Huntington's disease.