THE

CEREBELLUM
(RABBIA YOUSAF)
 DESCRIPTION
 The cerebellum, or “small brain”
 The adult human cerebellum weighs approximately
150 g (10 percent of brain weight).
 The cerebellum is somewhat ovoid in shape .
 LOCATION
 The cerebellum is located in the posterior fossa of the
skull.
 It overlies the dorsal surfaces of the pons and medulla
oblongata and contributes to the formation of the roof of
the fourth ventricle.
 It consists of two cerebellar hemispheres joined by a
narrow median vermis.
 The cerebellum is connected to the posterior aspect of the
brainstem by three symmetrical bundles of nerve fibers
called the superior, middle, and inferior cerebellar
peduncles.
 Gross Appearance of the Cerebellum

The cerebellum is divided into three main lobes:

1. The anterior lobe
2. The middle lobe
3. The flocculonodular lobe
 Fissures

 Primary fissure: separates anterior and posterior lobes

 Horizontal fissure: separates posterior lobe from its

caudal lobules

 Posterolateral fissure: separates posterior and

flocculonodular lobes
The anterior lobe
 seen on the superior surface of the cerebellum and is

separated from the middle lobe by a wide V-shaped

fissure called the primary fissure.

The middle lobe (or posterior lobe)

 the largest part of the cerebellum, is situated between the

primary and posterolateral fissures.

The flocculonodular lobe

 situated posterior to the uvulonodular fissure.
Functional Areas of the Cerebellar Cortex
Functional Areas of the Cerebellar Cortex

Lobe Function
Vermis proximal musculature of
limbs
Intermediate Hemisphere Distal musculature
Lateral Hemisphere Motor Planning and
Conscious Assessment of
movement errors
 Structure of the Cerebellum
 The cerebellum is composed of an outer covering of gray
matter called the cortex and inner white matter.

 Embedded in the white matter of each hemisphere are

masses of gray matter forming the intracerebellar nuclei.
 Gray Matter Of cerebellum
 The gray matter of the cortex throughout its extent has a
uniform structure. It may be divided into three layers:
1. an external layer, the molecular layer.
2. a middle layer, the Purkinje cell layer.
3. an internal layer, the granular layer.
Molecular Layer
It is the outermost layer and contains two types of
neurons: the outer stellate cell and the inner basket cell as
well as parallel fibers which are the axons of granule
cells. The extensive dendritic tree of the Purkinjie cell
extends into molecular layer.
Purkinje Cell Layer
 It is the middle and most important layer of the cerebellar

cortex.
 only axons of purkinje cells leave the cerebellar cortex.

 A SINGLE AXON exits from each purkinje cell and

projects to one of the deep cerebellar nuclei or to

vestibular nucleus of brain stem
The granule cell layer
 Innermost layer of cerebellar cortex

 It contains Golgi cells, granule cells, granule cell is the

only excitatory neuron with in cerebellar cortex.

Name Target Transmitter Function
Purkinje cell Deep GABA Inhibitory
Cerebellar
Nuclei,
Vestibular n

Granule cell Purkinje cell Glutamate Excitatory

Stellate cell Purkinje cell GABA Inhibitory

Basket cell Purkinje cell GABA Inhibitory

Golgi cell Granule cell GABA Inhibitory

 Intracerebellar Nuclei

 From lateral to medial, these nuclei are

1. the dentate,
2. the emboliform,
3. the globose,
4. the fastigial.
 White Matter

 The intrinsic fibers do not leave the cerebellum but

connect different regions of the organ.
 The afferent fibers form the greater part of the white
matter and proceed to the cerebellar cortex.
 They enter the cerebellum mainly through the inferior
and middle cerebellar peduncles.
FUNCTION OF CREBELLUM
 The cerebellum receives information from the
sensory systems, the spinal cord, and other parts of
the brain and then regulates motor movements. The
cerebellum coordinates voluntary movements such
as posture , balance, coordination, and speech ,
resulting in smooth and balanced muscular activity.