There are four paired deep cerebellar nuclei embedded in the

white matter White matter refers to areas of the central nervous system that are mainly made up of myelinated axons, also called Nerve tract, tracts. Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distr ...

centre of the

cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; 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 it or eve ...

. The nuclei are the fastigial,

globose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

, emboliform, and dentate nuclei. In lower mammals the emboliform nucleus appears to be continuous with the globose nucleus, and these are known together as the

interposed nucleus The interposed nucleus is the combined paired globose and emboliform nuclei, ( deep cerebellar nuclei) on either side of the cerebellum. It is located in the roof of the fourth ventricle, lateral to the fastigial nucleus. The emboliform nucleus ...

Inputs

These nuclei receive

inhibitory An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is a kind of synaptic potential that makes a Chemical synapse, postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential.Purves et al. Neuroscience. 4th ed. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates, Inc ...

(

GABA GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, γ-aminobutyric acid) is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the developmentally mature mammalian central nervous system. Its principal role is reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. GA ...

ergic) inputs from Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex and

excitatory In neuroscience, an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) is a postsynaptic potential that makes the postsynaptic neuron more likely to fire an action potential. This temporary depolarization of postsynaptic membrane potential, caused by the ...

(

glutamate Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; known as glutamate in its anionic form) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a Essential amino acid, non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that ...

rgic) inputs from mossy fiber and

climbing fiber Climbing fibers are the name given to a series of neuronal projections from the inferior olivary nucleus located in the medulla oblongata. These axons pass through the pons and enter the cerebellum via the inferior cerebellar peduncle wher ...

pathways. Most output fibers of the cerebellum originate from these nuclei. One exception is that fibers from the flocculonodular lobe synapse directly on

vestibular nuclei The vestibular nuclei (VN) are the cranial nuclei for the vestibular nerve located in the brainstem. In Terminologia Anatomica, they are grouped in both the pons and the medulla in the brainstem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the poste ...

without first passing through the deep cerebellar nuclei. The vestibular nuclei in the

brainstem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is conti ...

are analogous structures to the deep nuclei, since they receive both mossy fiber and Purkinje cell inputs. Eric Kandel (2021). Principles of Neural Science (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 909-929

Specific nuclei

From lateral to medial, the four deep cerebellar nuclei are the dentate, emboliform,

, and fastigial. Some animals, including humans, do not have distinct emboliform and globose nuclei, instead having a single, fused

. In animals with distinct emboliform and globose nuclei, the term ''interposed nucleus'' is often used to refer collectively to these two nuclei.

Topography

In general, each pair of deep nuclei is associated with a corresponding region of cerebellar surface anatomy. File:Sobo 1909 657.png, Cross-section of human cerebellum, showing the dentate nucleus, as well as fourth ventricle File:Sobo 1909 658.png, Cross-section of human cerebellum, showing the dentate nucleus and cross-section of vermis * The dentate nuclei are deep within the lateral hemispheres, * the interposed nuclei are located in the paravermal (intermediate) zone, * and the fastigial nuclei are in the

vermis The cerebellar vermis (from Latin ''vermis,'' "worm") is located in the medial, cortico-nuclear zone of the cerebellum, which is in the posterior fossa of the cranium. The primary fissure in the vermis curves ventrolaterally to the superior s ...

. These structural relationships are generally maintained in the neuronal connections between the nuclei and associated cerebellar cortex, * with the dentate nucleus receiving most of its connections from the lateral hemispheres, * the interposed nuclei receiving inputs mostly from the paravermis, * and the fastigial nucleus receiving primarily afferents from the vermis.

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20150621011739/http://www.mona.uwi.edu/fpas/courses/physiology/neurophysiology/Cerebellum.htm {{Authority control Cerebellum