CHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY OF ARCHICEREBELLAR MOSSY FIBRE APPARATUSES

Abstract

Examination of sagittal frozen sections of albino rat cerebella showed the granular layer of the archi-cerebellum to have strong acetylcholinesterase activity in contrast with the inactive paleo- and neocerebellar areas. Activity was confined to stellate islets 8-12 [mu] in size situated among the inactive granule cells. These correspond to the large pre-synaptic terminals of mossy fibers. These observations suggest that archicerebellar mossy fiber apparatuses transmit impulses to granule cells by means of a humoral mechanism.