The fastigial nucleus (roof nucleus-1) is located in each

cerebellar hemisphere The cerebellum consists of three parts, a median and two lateral, which are continuous with each other, and are substantially the same in structure. The median portion is constricted, and is called the vermis, from its annulated appearance which ...

. It is one of the four paired deep cerebellar nuclei of the

cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; 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 it or eve ...

. It is made up of two sections: the rostral fastigial nucleus and the caudal fastigial nucleus.

Anatomy

The fastigial nuclei is situated atop 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 ...

(thence its name: "''fastigus''" is Latin for "summit"). The fastigial nucleus is a mass 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 ...

, immediately over the roof of the

(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

dentate nucleus The dentate nucleus refer to a pair of deep cerebellar nuclei deep within the white matter of the cerebellum of the brain with a dentate – tooth-like or serrated – edge. The dentate forms the largest pathway between the cerebellum and the r ...

, but somewhat larger than the

emboliform nucleus The emboliform nucleus is a deep cerebellar nucleus that lies immediately to the medial side of the dentate nucleus, partly covering its hilum. It is one of the four pairs of deep cerebellar nuclei, which are from lateral to medial: the dent ...

and globose nucleus.

Afferents

The fastigial nucleus receives afferents from the vestibulocerebellar tract (containing first-order axons from the

vestibular nerve The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information from vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith organs (the u ...

as well as second-order axons from 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 The brainstem (or brain stem) is the poste ...

), and from

Purkinje cell Purkinje cells or Purkinje neurons, named for Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně who identified them in 1837, are a unique type of prominent, large neuron located in the Cerebellum, cerebellar Cortex (anatomy), cortex of the brain. Wi ...

s of the vestibulocerebellum cortex.

Efferents

The fastigial nucleus projects efferents to: the medial, lateral and inferior

reticular formation The reticular formation is a set of interconnected nuclei in the brainstem that spans from the lower end of the medulla oblongata to the upper end of the midbrain. The neurons of the reticular formation make up a complex set of neural networks ...

, ventral lateral nucleus of thalamus, and cerebellar cortex. It gives rise to fastigiovestibular fibres, and fastigioreticular fibres: both leave the cerebellum via the juxtarestiform body of the

inferior cerebellar peduncle The inferior cerebellar peduncle is formed by fibers of the restiform body that join with fibers from the much smaller juxtarestiform body. The inferior cerebellar peduncle is the smallest of the three cerebellar peduncles. The upper part of t ...

. * fastigiovestibular fibres project principally to the lateral and inferior

to influence the vestibulospinal tract bilaterally; * fastigioreticular fibres project to the (pontine and medullary)

to influence the reticulospinal tracts (bilaterally, but mainly contralaterally). Through the vestibulospinal and reticulospinal tracts, the fastigial efferents are involved in regulation of balance and posture as well as axial and proximal limb musculature activity.

Structure

Rostral fastigial nucleus

The rostral fastigial nucleus (rFN) is related to the

vestibular system The vestibular system, in vertebrates, is a sensory system that creates the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating motor coordination, movement with balance. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory sys ...

. 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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