Journal of Capital Medical University ›› 1985, Vol. 6 ›› Issue (1): 9-17.

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The Projection of Spinocerebellar Neurons from the Sacrococcygeal Spinal Cord in the Cat. An Experimental Study Using Anterograde Transport of WGA-HRP and Degeneration

Xu Qunyuan1, G. Grant2   

  • Received:1900-01-01 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:1985-01-15 Published:1985-01-15

Abstract: The projection from the sacrococcygeal cord to the cerebellum was studied by two kinds of techniques in the cat. In six cats WGA-HRP was injected caudal to a preceding unilateral cordotomy at the sacral level and the distribution of WGA-HRP labeled fibers and terminals was studied in the cerebellum In three additional cats degenerating fibers were examined by Fink-Heimer’s method after semi-transection of the lateral and ventral funiculi of the lowest lumbar cord. The WGA-HRP labeled mossy fiber terminals were located bilaterally in lobules Ⅰ-Ⅴ. Most of them were found in the anterior part of lobule Ⅱ. The terminals were concentrated in longitudinal zones parallel to the midplane. In lobule Ⅱ the terminals were most abundant in the superficial part of the folia. A few of terminals were observed, in addition, in sublobule ⅧB and the pars copularis of the paramedian lobuIe. Some terminals were also seen in the cerebellar nuclei. Labeled fibers were found unilaterally in the superior and inferior cerebellar peduncles, as well as in the spinal cord, rostral to the cordotomy, The results of the degeneration experiments were much the same as those of the WGA-HRp experiments.Present study indicates that there are several cell groups which send axons to the dorsal and ventral spinocerebellar tracts in the very lower spinal cord in the cat. Majority of these neurons relate functionally to cutaneous afferents from the distal hindlimb and tail.