Drug-induced rhythmic burst activity of cerebellar neurons

The discharge of cerebellar neurons was investigated in the rabbit and the rat under the influence of pentobarbital, diazepam or medazepam. In the rabbit, these drugs are known to induce a rhythm ranging between 4 and 25 Hz in the red nucleus (RN) and the cerebellum (Cb). Purkinje cells (P cells) in the intermediate zone of the cerebellar cortex as well as neurons of the interposed nucleus (IPN) were found to discharge with burst patterns fully synchronized with the drug-induced RN rhythm. In contrast, P cells in the medial cerebellar zone responded to these drugs only with changes in their discharge rate. Since P cells of the intermediate longitudinal zone project to the RN mainly via the IPN, the present findings complement our previous results, indicating that the rhythmic electrical activity in the RN is initiated by the cerebellum. The three drugs had similar effects on the activity of cerebellar units in the rabbit and the rat. The investigation also shows that, in spite of the uniform morphological structure of the cerebellar cortex, P cells do not respond uniformly to a given drug: the diversity of findings published on the P cell response to barbiturates or benzodiazepine derivatives may be explained by differences in the recording sites.