Trends in Neurosciences
Volume 21, Issue 9, 1 September 1998, Pages 370-375
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The anatomy of the cerebellum

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Abstract

Vertebrate cerebella occupy a position in the rostral roof of the 4th ventricle and share a common pattern in the structure of their cortex. They differ greatly in their external form, the disposition of the neurones of the cerebellar cortex and in the prominence of their afferent, intrinsic and efferent connections.

Section snippets

Variations in the external form of cerebella

The gross anatomy of the cerebellum varies from that of a single leaf or dome-like structure, as in amphibians and reptiles, to the more complicated shapes in fish, birds and mammals (Fig. 2A). In fish the cerebellum consists of a central mass, the corpus cerebelli, and two lateral granular eminences, also known as the auricles in cartilagenous fish[2](Fig. 1G). The granular eminences and their caudal interconnection are closely related to the nuclei of the vestibulo–lateral line systems.

The modular organization of the output of the cerebellar cortex

In mammals and birds the output of the cerebellar cortex is organized in a pattern of parallel longitudinal zones (Fig. 3A). Purkinje cells of a zone, or a pair of non-contiguous zones, project to a particular cerebellar or vestibular target nucleus. Zones can extend across one or more lobules, some span the entire rostro–caudal length of the cerebellum. Within vermis and hemispheres the zones remain oriented parallel to the long axis of the folial chains21, 22.

The olivocerebellar projection is

Mossy fibres identify the lobules of the cerebellum

Mossy fibres arise from many different sources in the brainstem and the spinal cord. They enter the cerebellum rostrally; many of them cross the midline in the cerebellar commissure and distribute bilaterally. Mossy fibres terminate in lobule-specific patterns of ill-defined patches or zones, but these zones usually are discontinuous at the apex or the base of a lobule44, 45, 49 (Fig. 4A). Some reticular and spinal mossy fibre systems emit collaterals to the cerebellar nuclei46, 50, 51, 52. In

Acknowledgements

We thank Edith Klink for her secretarial assistance and Eddy Dalm for the photography.

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