Pyramidal input to the intracerebellar nuclei of the cat

In unanesthetized cats it has been found that pyramidal volleys elicited upon medullary pyramidal tract stimulation were capable of modifying the discharge of 41% of intracerebellar nuclear cells, via pontocerebellar systems impinging predominantly on the lateral cerebellar cortex. The incidence of responsive cells was 80% in the dentate nucleus compared with 10% in the fastigial nucleus, 11% in the anterior and 12% in the posterior division of the interpositus nucleus. The response was in 59% of the cases excitation followed by inhibition, in 30% of the cases a pure excitation and in 11% of the cases a pure inhibition. Excitation, pure or followed by inhibition, had a mean latency of 5.78 ms and a mean duration of 12.21 ms, while inhibition displayed a mean latency of 9.03 ms and a mean duration of 34.64 ms. The possible functional significance of the pyramidal input to the lateral cerebellum is briefly discussed in relation to a possible convergence of pyramidal and associative impulses in single cerebellar neurons.