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Confocal microscope image of cerebellar Purkinje cells expressing tdTomato. These cells are some of the largest neurons in the human brain (Betz cells being the largest), [5] with an intricately elaborate dendritic arbor, characterized by a large number of dendritic spines. Purkinje cells are found within the Purkinje layer in the cerebellum.
The human cerebellum is located at the base of the brain, with the large mass of the cerebrum above it, and the portion of the brainstem called the pons in front of it. It is separated from the overlying cerebrum by a layer of tough dura mater called the cerebellar tentorium; all of its connections with other parts of the brain travel through the pons.
Plasticity of the synapse between a parallel fiber and a Purkinje cell is believed to be important for motor learning. [11] The function of cerebellar circuits is entirely dependent on processes carried out by the granular layer. Therefore, the function of granule cells determines the cerebellar function as a whole. [12]
The large, spherical cell bodies of Purkinje cells are packed into a narrow layer (one cell thick) of the cerebellar cortex, called the Purkinje layer. After emitting collaterals that affect nearby parts of the cortex, their axons travel into the deep cerebellar nuclei , where they make on the order of 1,000 contacts each with several types of ...
There are four paired deep cerebellar nuclei embedded in the white matter centre of the cerebellum. The nuclei are the fastigial , globose , emboliform , and dentate nuclei. In lower mammals the emboliform nucleus appears to be continuous with the globose nucleus, and these are known together as the interposed nucleus .
Cerebellar granule cells form the thick granular layer of the cerebellar cortex and are among the smallest neurons in the brain. (The term granule cell is used for several unrelated types of small neurons in various parts of the brain.) Cerebellar granule cells are also the most numerous neurons in the brain: in humans, estimates of their total ...
In the cerebellum, the multipolar basket cells have branching dendrites, which are dilated and knotty. Basket cells synapse on the cell bodies of Purkinje cells and make inhibitory synapses with Purkinje cells. Cerebellar basket cell axons fire inhibitory neurotransmitters such as GABA to Purkinje cell axons, and inhibits the Purkinje cell. [9]
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