The cerebellum communicates with the basal ganglia

Nat Neurosci. 2005 Nov;8(11):1491-3. doi: 10.1038/nn1544. Epub 2005 Oct 2.

Abstract

The cerebral cortex is interconnected with two major subcortical structures: the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. How and where cerebellar circuits interact with basal ganglia circuits has been a longstanding question. Using transneuronal transport of rabies virus in macaques, we found that a disynaptic pathway links an output stage of cerebellar processing, the dentate nucleus, with an input stage of basal ganglia processing, the striatum.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Basal Ganglia / anatomy & histology*
  • Basal Ganglia / virology
  • Cerebellum / anatomy & histology*
  • Cerebellum / metabolism
  • Cerebellum / virology
  • Macaca
  • Neural Pathways / anatomy & histology*
  • Neural Pathways / virology
  • Rabies virus / physiology