The cerebellothalamic tract or the ''tractus cerebellothalamicus'', is part of the superior cerebellar peduncle. It originates in the

cerebellar nuclei The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cereb ...

, crosses completely in the

decussation Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

of the superior cerebellar peduncle, bypasses the

red nucleus The red nucleus or nucleus ruber is a structure in the rostral midbrain involved in motor coordination. The red nucleus is pale pink, which is believed to be due to the presence of iron in at least two different forms: hemoglobin and ferritin. ...

, and terminates in posterior division of

ventral lateral nucleus The ventral lateral nucleus (VL) is a nucleus in the ventral nuclear group of the thalamus. Inputs and outputs It receives neuronal inputs from the basal ganglia which includes the substantia nigra and the globus pallidus (via the thalamic fasc ...

of thalamus. The ventrolateral nucleus has different divisions and distinct connections, mostly with frontal and parietal lobes. The primary motor cortex and premotor cortex get information from the ventrolateral nucleus projections originating in the

interposed nucleus The interposed nucleus is part of the deep cerebellar complex and is composed of the globose nucleus and the emboliform nucleus. It is located in the roof (dorsal aspect) of the fourth ventricle, lateral to the fastigial nucleus. It receives i ...

and dentate nuclei. Other dentate nucleus projections via thalamic pathway transmit information to

prefrontal cortex In mammalian brain anatomy, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) covers the front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The PFC contains the Brodmann areas BA8, BA9, BA10, BA11, BA12, BA13, BA14, BA24, BA25, BA32, BA44, BA45, BA46 ...

and

posterior parietal cortex The posterior parietal cortex (the portion of parietal neocortex posterior to the primary somatosensory cortex) plays an important role in planned movements, spatial reasoning, and attention. Damage to the posterior parietal cortex can produce a ...

. The cerebellum sends thalamocortical projections and in addition may also send connections from the thalamus to association areas serving cognitive and affective functions. It is mostly separated from the pallidothalamic tracts. It can play a role in mediating symptoms in hereditary dystonia. The term "cerebellothalamocortical pathway" is used to indicate termination in the

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consistin ...

Function

The cerebellothalamic tract transmits information from the cerebellum to the thalamus via neural impulses for the

sensory systems The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved i ...

. Motor adaptation is primarily a function of the cerebellothalamic fiber pathway. The cerebellum oversees modification of routine motor programs in response to changes in the environment (e.g. walking uphill versus walking on a flat surface). It is experimentally shown that prolonged motor adaptation, such as walking over a period of weeks while wearing an ankle cast, is accompanied by

long-term potentiation In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. These are patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons ...

of cerebellothalamic synapses, thereby facilitating the influence of the cerebellum on the

motor cortex The motor cortex is the region of the cerebral cortex believed to be involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements. The motor cortex is an area of the frontal lobe located in the posterior precentral gyrus immediately ...

Clinical significance

Lesions in cerebrocerebellum, which receives input exclusively from the cerebral cortex and projects its output to premotor and motor cortices, result in impairments in highly skilled sequences of learned movements, for instance, playing a musical instrument. Lesions may also result in problems with planning movements and ipsilateral incoordination, especially of the upper limb and to faulty phonation and articulation. Pathological interaction between cerebellothalamic tract and

basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an exter ...

may be the explanation for the resting tremor in

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

References

{{Neural tracts Thalamic connections Cerebellar connections

Function

Clinical significance

See also

References