The olivocerebellar projection in the cat studied with the method of retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase

Abstract

The distribution of labeled cells in the inferior olive of the cat has been mapped following injections of small amounts of horseradish peroxidase in the paramedian lobule of the cerebellum.The distribution of labeled cells was plotted in drawings of approximately serial transverse sections. The findings in each case were transferred to a standard diagram of the olive to facilitate comparison of cases.Previous studies of the distribution of retrograde cell loss in the inferior olive following cerebellar lesions (Brodal, '40b) showed that fibers ending in the paramedian lobule come from the caudal part of the ventral lamella of the principal olive. This was confirmed with the peroxidase method, but in addition three other separate and well circumscribed areas of the olive showed labeling: one in the dorsal accessory olive, another in the rostral part of the medial accessory olive, a third in the caudal part of the dorsal lamella of the principal olive (fig. 7). There is some degree of topical arrangement within the projection of each of these olivary areas to the paramedian lobule. It is particularly striking that the projection areas of the caudal one‐third of the lobule are different from and overlap only little with those of the rostral two‐thirds. On account of diffusion of the injected peroxidase solution in the folia it could not be decided whether the different olivary areas project to particular longitudinal zones in the paramedian lobule.The main findings can be correlated with the physiological observations of Armstrong et al. ('74). Some of the “paramedian” olivary areas are labeled also following peroxidase injections in other cerebellar parts, among them the nuclei interpositus anterior and posterior. The findings are compatible with the notion that olivocerebellar fibers branch to supply more than one cerebellar region.It is confirmed that the olivocerebellar projection, including that of the nuclei, is almost completely crossed. In the DISCUSSION it is emphasized that afferents from several sources converge on all four olivary regions projecting onto the paramedian lobule. The olivocerebellar projection obviously allows for divergence as well as convergence of impulses from the olive to the cerebellum.For further insight into the anatomical organization of the inferior olive, the entire olivocerebellar projection has to be mapped with the peroxidase method, and further studies of the afferents to the olive are needed. In such studies, as well as in physiological ones, it is essential that findings are described with meticulous reference to the topography of the olivary subdivisions.