LATERAL VESTIBULAR NUCLEUS OF THE RAT, WITH A NOTE ON ITS DORSAL EXTENSION INTO THE CEREBELLUM

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 129  (AUG) , 107-116
Abstract
The cytoarchitecture of the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) was studied in Nissl stained brain stem preparations of 12 adult and 8 neonatal albino rats of Wistar strain. The position of the nucleus, in the dorsolateral aspect of the cranial part of the medulla and the caudal part of the pons, is similar to that described in other mammals. The dorsal part of the rat''s nucleus has an extension passing medial to the inferior cerebellar peduncle into the ventral part of the cerebellum between the dentate nucleus and the nucleus interpositus. This extension was not previously described and it probably constitutes a neuronal complex continuous with the cerebellar roof nuclei. The rat''s LVN is composed of 2 main types of neurons; large multipolar neurons predominate in the dorsolateral aspect of the nucleus, while small and medium-sized neurons predominate ventromedially. The former cells probably correspond to type I neurons and the latter to type II neurons demonstrated electrophysiologically in the cat LVN on antidromic spinal cord stimulation.