Cerebellum Review

Question 1

What are the cerebellar connections to the brainstem?

Answer 1

inferior, middle and superior peduncle

Question 2

What are the cerebellar afferents (cerebellopetal fibers) of the inferior cerebellar peduncle?

Answer 2

• rostral, dorsal, and cuneo spinocerebellar tracts
• olivocerebellar tract
• vestibulocerebellar tract

Question 3

What are the cerebellar efferents (cerebellofugal fibers) of the inferior cerebellar peduncle?

Answer 3

efferents to the vestibular nuclei and the reticular nuclei

Question 4

What afferents (cerebellopetal) fibers does the middle cerebellar peduncle contain?

Answer 4

exclusively pontocerebellar tract

Question 5

What afferents (cerebellopetal) fibers does the superior cerebellar peduncle contain?

Answer 5

ventral spinocerebellar tract

Question 6

What are efferent fibers of the superior cerebellar peduncle and where do they go?

Answer 6

efferent corticofugal fibers from the cerebellum which terminate in the red nucleus and VL motor nucleus of the thalamus

Question 7

Regions of the cerebellum?

Answer 7

-pontocerebellum, spinocerebellum,

vestibulocerebellum

Question 8

Pontocerebellum aka?

Answer 8

neocerebellum

Question 9

What does the pontocerebellum include?

Answer 9

lateral zone of the cerebellum including the more lateral regions of anterior and posterior lobes

Question 10

Spinocerebellum aka?

Answer 10

paleocerebellum

Question 11

spinocerebellum includes?

Answer 11

intermediate zone of the cerebellum which includes medial aspects of both lobes, cerebellar tonsils and vermis

Question 12

vestibulocerebellum aka?

Answer 12

archicerebellum

Question 13

vestibulocerebellum includes?

Answer 13

most medial part of the cerebellum and the flocculonodular lobe

Question 14

What are the nuclei of the cerebellum?

Answer 14

Fastigial
Interposed (globose and embolliform)
Dentate

Question 15

Fastigial nucleus. location? associated with?

Answer 15

most medial

associated with vestibulocerebellum and spinocerebellm

Question 16

Interposted nuclei. location? association?

Answer 16

interposed bw the fastigial and the dentate

associated with spinocerebellum

Question 17

dentate nucleus. location? association

Answer 17

most lateral and largest

associated with pontocerebellum

Question 18

layers of the cerebellar cortex?

Answer 18

3
molecular
purkinje
granule

Question 19

molecular layer?

Answer 19

most superficial, low neuron cell body density, but has two types of inhibitory neurons (stellate and basket cells)
contains large dendritic arborizations of purkinje cells that lie in a single plane perpendicular to long axis of folia (gyri of cerebellar cortex)

Question 20

What are the two sets of afferent fibers in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex?

Answer 20

parallel fibers

climbing fibers

Question 21

what are parallel fibers?

Answer 21

unmyelinated granule cell axons which each run 5 mm along long axis of folium that activates hundreds of purkinje cells

Question 22

What are climbing fibers?

Answer 22

wrapped around individual purkinje cell dendritic trees

Question 23

what is the middle layer of the cerebellar cortex?

Answer 23

purkinje cell layer

Question 24

what is the purkinje cell layer composed of?

Answer 24

cell bodies of purkinje neurons which are inhibitory (GABA mediated) to the deep nuclei and some axons will exit the cerebellum

Question 25

What is the granular layer composed of?

Answer 25

tightly packed granule cells

inhibitory interneurons called Golgi cells

Question 26

where do axons of granule cells go to?

Answer 26

ascend into molecular layer to form parallel fibers

Question 27

Where do parallel fibers run:?

Answer 27

about 5 mm along cortex activating with excitatory (glutamate) endings with each parallel fiber ending on > 500 purkinje cells