Afferent connections of the cerebellar nuclei Purkinje cell axons

AFFERENT CONNECTIONS OF THE CEREBELLAR NUCLEI PURKINJE CELL AXONS 

1987) or for taurine-containing terminals in the cerebellar nuclei (Ottersen et al., 1988b). 

Zebrin-immunoreactive and non-immunoreactive Purkinje cells are distributed in parallel longitudinal bands in the cortex of rat cerebellum (Hawkes et al., 1985) and distribute their axons to different parts of the cerebellar nuclei (Hawkes and Leclerc, 1986). Light microscopical observations showed that all Zebrin positive boutons on the soma and dendrites of large central nuclear cells contained GAD, and that most GAD-positive boutons on individual cells either were Zebrin-positive or -negative. The two populations of Purkinje cells, therefore, terminate on different central nuclear cells. Zebrin-positive Purkinje cells of the vermis projected to the caudal part and a majority of Zebrin-negative Purkinje cells to the rostral part of the fastigial nucleus of the rat. 

Hawkes and Leclerc (1986) estimated that Zebrin-positive terminals made up the great majority of the GAD-positive boutons on the class of Zebrin receptive neurons. This suggests that intrinsic GABAergic terminals are few and that extracerebellar and intrinsic non-GABAergic connections account for at most 20% of the terminals on these cells. GABA receptors in the cerebellar nuclei were not systematically studied (see Section 

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