The fastigial nucleus is located in the

cerebellum 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 cerebel ...

. It is one of the four

deep cerebellar nuclei The cerebellum has four deep cerebellar nuclei embedded in the white matter in its center. 4 pairs of nuclei are embedded deep in the medullary centre, in the medial to lateral direction. They are fastigial nuclei, globose nuclei, emboliform nucl ...

(the others being the nucleus dentatus,

nucleus emboliformis The emboliform nucleus (or anterior interposed nucleus) is a deep cerebellar nucleus that lies immediately to the medial side of the nucleus dentatus, and partly covering its hilum. It is one among the four pairs of deep cerebellar nuclei, whi ...

and

nucleus globosus The globose nucleus is one of the deep cerebellar nuclei. It is located medial to the emboliform nucleus and lateral to the fastigial nucleus. This nucleus contains primarily large and small multipolar neurons. The ''globose nucleus'' and embol ...

), and is

grey matter Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distingui ...

embedded in the

white matter White matter refers to areas of the central nervous system (CNS) that are mainly made up of myelinated axons, also called tracts. Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distribution ...

of the cerebellum. It refers specifically to the concentration of gray matter nearest to the middle line at the anterior end of the superior

vermis The cerebellar vermis (from Latin ''vermis,'' "worm") is located in the medial, cortico-nuclear zone of the cerebellum, which is in the posterior fossa of the cranium. The primary fissure in the vermis curves ventrolaterally to the superior s ...

, and immediately over the roof of the

fourth ventricle The fourth ventricle is one of the four connected fluid-filled cavities within the human brain. These cavities, known collectively as the ventricular system, consist of the left and right lateral ventricles, the third ventricle, and the fourth ve ...

(the peak of which is called the ''fastigium''), from which it is separated by a thin layer of white matter. It is smaller than the nucleus dentatus, but somewhat larger than the

and

. Although it is one dense mass, it is made up of two sections: the rostral fastigial nucleus and the caudal fastigial nucleus.

Structure

The

Purkinje cell Purkinje cells, or Purkinje neurons, are a class of GABAergic inhibitory neurons located in the cerebellum. They are named after their discoverer, Czech people, Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, who characterized the cells in 1839. Stru ...

s of the cerebellar cortex project into the deep cerebellar nuclei and inhibit the excitatory output system via GABAergic synapses. The fastigial nucleus receives its input from Purkinje cells in the

. Most of its efferent connections travel via the

inferior cerebellar peduncle The upper part of the posterior district of the medulla oblongata is occupied by the inferior cerebellar peduncle, a thick rope-like strand situated between the lower part of the fourth ventricle and the roots of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerv ...

to the

vestibular nuclei The vestibular nuclei (VN) are the cranial nuclei for the vestibular nerve located in the brainstem. In Terminologia Anatomica they are grouped in both the pons and the medulla in the brainstem. Structure Path The fibers of the vestibular n ...

, which are located at the junction of the

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

and the medulla oblongata. The fastigial nucleus sends excitatory projections beyond the cerebellum. The likely neurotransmitters of fastigial nucleus

axon An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action po ...

s are

glutamate Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can syn ...

and aspartate.

Rostral fastigial nucleus

The rostral fastigial nucleus (rFN) is related to the vestibular system. It receives input from the vestibular nuclei and contributes to vestibular neuronal activity. The rFN interprets body motion and places it on spatial planes to estimate the movement of the body through space. It deals with antigravity muscle groups and other synergies involved with standing and walking.

Caudal fastigial nucleus

The caudal fastigial nucleus (cFN) is related to saccadic eye movements. The Purkinje cell output from the oculomotor vermis relays through the cFN, where neurons directly related to saccadic eye movements are located.Kleine, Guan, & Buttner, accade-related neurons in the primate fastigial nucleus: what do they encode? 2003

References

Online Medical Dictionary entry

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20150621011739/http://www.mona.uwi.edu/fpas/courses/physiology/neurophysiology/Cerebellum.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20080405062814/http://www.lib.mcg.edu/edu/eshuphysio/program/section8/8ch6/s8ch6_29.htm
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