The cerebellum.

Fighting the drunken stooper since

1862.

The Cerebellum & Basal

Ganglia
Csilla Egri, KIN 306 Spring 2012
 Outline
2

 General function
 Anatomy of the cerebellum
 Functional divisions
 Projections
 Anatomy of the basal ganglia
 Projections
 Basal ganglia disorders
 Parkinson’s disease
 General functions
3

 Cerebellum
 Major role in timing of motor
activities and in rapid, smooth
progression of movements
 Monitors and makes corrective
adjustments to motor plan
 Basal ganglia
 Helps plan and control complex
patterns of movement
 Relative movement intensities,
directions, and sequence
No direct projections to lower motor
neurons of skeletal muscle
Movement influenced by regulation of
activity of upper motor neurons
 Cerebellar cortex:
functional divisions
4

3 functional divisions
 Vestibulocerebellum

 Flocculus + nodulus
 Spinocerebellum
 Vermis and adjacent
intermediate zone
 Cerebrocerebellum
 Lateral zone

Sunderland Fig 19.1 (online access http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10799/

use search function to browse chapter contents)
 Cerebellar cortex: functional
5
divisions
 Vestibulocerebellum
 Inputs:

 From vestibular nuclei in brainstem

 Function:

 Regulate movements underlying posture and

equilibrium
 Coordination of eye and head movements
 Damage:

 Impairs ability to stand upright, maintain posture

and balance
 Cerebellar nystagmus
 Cerebellar cortex: functional
6
divisions
 Spinocerebellum
 Inputs:

 Directly from spinal cord

 Function:

 Lateral portion
 Movement of distal muscle (ex. gross
movements during walking)
 Central portion (vermis)
 Movement of proximal muscles
 Damage:

 Overshoot and intension tremor

 Impaired gait
 Cerebellar cortex: functional
7
divisions
 Cerebrocerebellum
 Inputs:

 Many areas of cerebral cortex (relayed thru pons)

 Function:

 Planning and timing of sequential movements

 Speech
 Damage:

 Ataxia: incoordination of complex, purposeful movements of

hands, fingers, feet and speech apparatus
 Failure of smooth progression of movement

Lesions to any division of cerebellum result in

impairments on ipsilateral side of the body
 Cerebellum: projections
8

4 deep cerebellar nuclei

receive input from
cerebellar
cortex and send projections
to thalamus
1. Fastigial
2. 2 Interposed
3. Dentate
Information travels via
cerebellar peduncles
1. Superior (efferent)
2. Middle (afferent)
3. Inferior (mixed)
Sunderland Fig 19.1
 Cerebellum:
9
inputs

Receive many inputs

from periphery, spinal
cord and brain
regions

Sunderland Fig 19.3

 Cerebellum:
10
outputs

Why would lesions to the cerebellar

cortex affect movement on ipsilateral
side of the body?

Sunderland Fig 19.6

 The basal
11
ganglia
 Receives inputs from
and projects back to Striatum
motor cortex via
thalamus
 Closed loop

Sunderland Fig 18.1

 The basal ganglia:
12
inputs
 Striatum is main input
center
 integrates inputs from

a variety of
structures, including
substantia nigra pars
compacta
 No input directly

from spinal cord

 Send inhibitory
connections to two main
output centers
Sunderland Fig 18.2
 The basal ganglia:
13
outputs
 Internal globus pallidus and
substantia nigra pars reticulata
are main output centers
 SN-pars reticulata mainly
projects to superior colliculus
 Eye movement
 Internal globus pallidus
mainly projects to thalamus
 Relays output to motor
cortices
 Each send tonic inhibitory signals

Sunderland Fig 18.5

 The basal ganglia: general
14
circuitry
Input: to striatum
Ouput: internal globus pallidus and
substantia nigra pars reticulata
 Inhibitory connections
 GABA throughout most of
basal ganglia
 Excitatory connections:
 Glutamate from cortex,
subthalamic nucleus and
thalamus
 Dopamine from subsantia nigra
pars compacta can be either
inhibitory or excitatory

Sunderland Fig 18.1

 The basal ganglia: general
15
circuitry
Outputs of striatum project via two
different pathways
each pathway is modulated by
dopamine from substantia nigra
pars compacta
 Direct

 Facilitates movement

 Excited by dopamine (D1

receptors)
 Indirect

 Inhibits movement
What effect does dopamine
 Inhibited by dopamine
release have (D2
on movement?
receptors) Kandel Figure 43-3
 The basal ganglia: general
16
circuitry (supplementary slide)

Can be
modulated by
SnC

The basal ganglia enables the proper motor program to be activated via the
direct pathway and inhibits competing motor programs via the indirect pathway.
 The basal ganglia: direct
17
pathway
Dopamine release onto D1 = Increased
excitation of motor cortices

Cortical projections to direct pathway

result in dis-inhibition of thalamus

Sunderland Fig 18.8

 The basal ganglia: indirect pathway
18

Dopamine release onto D2 = Increased

excitation of motor cortices

Cortical projections to indirect

pathway result in dis-
inhibition of subthalamic
nucleus and inhibition of
thalamus
Sunderland Fig 18.8
 Disorders of the basal ganglia
19

Parkinson’s Disease
 Characterized by resting tremor,

slowed/absent movement
(hypokinesia), rigidity of the
extremities and neck, & reduced
facial expressiveness
 Caused by the loss of the

dopaminergic neurons in the

substantia nigra pars compacta
 Typically treated with L-Dopa

WebCT readings: Circuits within the basal ganglia system

 Parkinson’s Disease
20

Increased output of indirect

pathway, decreased output
Sunderland Fig 18.10 of direct pathway
 Objectives
21

After this lecture you should be able to:

 Discuss the general role of the cerebellum and basal ganglia in
voluntary movement
 Describe the organization of the cerebellum
 List the major inputs/outputs to and from the cerebellum

 List the major functions of the three functional divisions of the

cerebellum
 Describe the organization of the basal ganglia
 List the major inputs/outputs to and from the basal ganglia
and their corresponding neurotransmitters
 Trace the connections of both the direct and indirect pathway of
the basal ganglia and their contributions to movement
 Relate how disorders of the basal ganglia such as
Parkinson’s disease affect these pathways
 Test your knowledge
22

1. The globus pallidus interna primarily projects to the

______________________ whereas the substantia nigra
pars reticulata primarily projects to
______________________.
2. Inhibition of the subthalamic nucleus results in
increased or decrease motor movement?
3. The __________________________ cerebellar peduncle
is the main pathway for efferent fibers.