Climbing fibers are the name given to a series of

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa ...

al projections from the inferior olivary nucleus located in the

medulla oblongata The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up the lower part of the brainstem. It is anterior and partially inferior to the cerebellum. It is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for autonomic (invol ...

. These

axon An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action p ...

s pass through the

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

and enter the

cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebe ...

via the

inferior cerebellar peduncle The upper part of the posterior district of the medulla oblongata is occupied by the inferior cerebellar peduncle, a thick rope-like strand situated between the lower part of the fourth ventricle and the roots of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerv ...

where they form

synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

s with the deep cerebellar nuclei and

Purkinje cell Purkinje cells, or Purkinje neurons, are a class of GABAergic inhibitory neurons located in the cerebellum. They are named after their discoverer, Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, who characterized the cells in 1839. Structure T ...

s. Each climbing fiber will form synapses with 1-10 Purkinje cells. Early in development, Purkinje cells are innervated by multiple climbing fibers, but as the cerebellum matures, these inputs gradually become eliminated resulting in a single climbing fiber input per Purkinje cell. These fibers provide very powerful, excitatory input to the cerebellum which results in the generation of complex spike excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) in Purkinje cells. In this way climbing fibers (CFs) perform a central role in motor behaviors. The climbing fibers carry information from various sources such as the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

vestibular system The vestibular system, in vertebrates, is a sensory system that creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory system, it constitut ...

red nucleus The red nucleus or nucleus ruber is a structure in the rostral midbrain involved in motor coordination. The red nucleus is pale pink, which is believed to be due to the presence of iron in at least two different forms: hemoglobin and ferritin. ...

superior colliculus In neuroanatomy, the superior colliculus () is a structure lying on the roof of the mammalian midbrain. In non-mammalian vertebrates, the homologous structure is known as the optic tectum, or optic lobe. The adjective form '' tectal'' is common ...

reticular formation The reticular formation is a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem. It is not anatomically well defined, because it includes neurons located in different parts of the brain. The neurons of the reticular formatio ...

and sensory and motor cortices. Climbing fiber activation is thought to serve as a motor error signal sent to the cerebellum, and is an important signal for motor timing. In addition to the control and coordination of movements, the climbing fiber afferent system contributes to sensory processing and cognitive tasks likely by encoding the timing of sensory input independently of attention or awareness. In the central nervous system, these fibers are able to undergo remarkable regenerative modifications in response to injuries, being able to generate new branches by sprouting to innervate surrounding Purkinje cells if these lose their CF innervation. This kind of injury-induced sprouting has been shown to need the growth associated protein

GAP-43 Growth Associated Protein 43 (GAP43) is a protein encoded by the ''GAP43'' gene in humans. GAP43 is called a "growth" or "plasticity" protein because it is expressed at high levels in neuronal growth cones during developmentReferenced within : ...

References

External links

Climbing Fiber Discharge Regulates Cerebellar Functions by Controlling the intrinsic Characteristics of Purkinje Cell OutputSpatiotemporal Tuning of Optic Flow Inputs to the Vestibulocerebellum in Pigeons: Differences Between Mossy and Climbing Fiber Pathways
{{Cerebellum Cerebellar connections Medulla oblongata

See also

References

External links