Compensatory climbing fiber innervation after unilateral pedunculotomy in the newborn rat: origin and topographic organization

The underpinnings of cerebellar ataxias

The human cerebellum contains more than 60% of all neurons of the brain. Anatomically, the cerebellum is divided into 10 lobules (I-X). The cerebellar cortex is arranged into three layers: the molecular layer (external), the Purkinje cell layer and the granular layer (internal). Purkinje neurons and interneurons are inhibitory, except for granule cells. The layer of Purkinje neurons inhibit cerebellar nuclei, the sole output of the cerebellar circuitry, as well as vestibular nuclei. The cerebellum is arranged into a series of olivo-cortico-nuclear modules arranged longitudinally in the rostro-caudal plane. The cerebro-cerebellar connectivity is organized into multiple loops running in parallel. From the clinical standpoint, it is now considered that cerebellar symptoms can be gathered into 3 cerebellar syndromes: a cerebellar motor syndrome (CMS), a vestibulocerebellar syndrome (VCS) and a cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome/Schmahmann syndrome (CCAS/SS). CMS remains a cornerstone of modern clinical ataxiology, and relevant lesions involve lobules I-V, VI and VIII. The core feature of cerebellar symptoms is dysmetria, covering motor dysmetria (errors in the metrics of motion) and dysmetria of thought. The cerebellar circuitry plays a key-role in the generation and maintenance of internal models which correspond to neural representations reproducing the dynamic properties of the body. These models allow predictive computations for motor, cognitive, social, and affective operations. Cerebellar circuitry is endowed with noticeable plasticity properties.

Part I: The Complex Spikes as One of the Cerebellar Secrets

The olivocerebellar tract has unique morphological, physiological, and developmental properties. Olivocerebellar axons are the source of multiple climbing fibers (CFs). The synapse between CFs and the Purkinje neuron is one of the most powerful excitatory in the central nervous system. Complex spikes are composed of an initial large amplitude spike followed by spikelets. The spatiotemporal patterns of complex/simple spikes complement the rate coding to enhance the accuracy of motor and cognitive processing, and to improve predictions related to internal models. Understanding the role of complex spikes is essential in clarifying how the cerebellar cortex contributes to learning, motor control, cognitive tasks, and the processing of emotions. This Cerebellar Classic is devoted to the pioneering work of Eccles, Llinás, and Sasaki on complex spikes using intracellular recordings from Purkinje neurons.

Consensus Paper. Cerebellar Reserve: From Cerebellar Physiology to Cerebellar Disorders

Cerebellar reserve refers to the capacity of the cerebellum to compensate for tissue damage or loss of function resulting from many different etiologies. When the inciting event produces acute focal damage (e.g., stroke, trauma), impaired cerebellar function may be compensated for by other cerebellar areas or by extracerebellar structures (i.e., structural cerebellar reserve). In contrast, when pathological changes compromise cerebellar neuronal integrity gradually leading to cell death (e.g., metabolic and immune-mediated cerebellar ataxias, neurodegenerative ataxias), it is possible that the affected area itself can compensate for the slowly evolving cerebellar lesion (i.e., functional cerebellar reserve). Here, we examine cerebellar reserve from the perspective of the three cornerstones of clinical ataxiology: control of ocular movements, coordination of voluntary axial and appendicular movements, and cognitive functions. Current evidence indicates that cerebellar reserve is potentiated by environmental enrichment through the mechanisms of autophagy and synaptogenesis, suggesting that cerebellar reserve is not rigid or fixed, but exhibits plasticity potentiated by experience. These conclusions have therapeutic implications. During the period when cerebellar reserve is preserved, treatments should be directed at stopping disease progression and/or limiting the pathological process. Simultaneously, cerebellar reserve may be potentiated using multiple approaches. Potentiation of cerebellar reserve may lead to compensation and restoration of function in the setting of cerebellar diseases, and also in disorders primarily of the cerebral hemispheres by enhancing cerebellar mechanisms of action. It therefore appears that cerebellar reserve, and the underlying plasticity of cerebellar microcircuitry that enables it, may be of critical neurobiological importance to a wide range of neurological/neuropsychiatric conditions.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of lesion-induced axonal sprouting and its relation to functional architecture of the cerebellum

Neurodegenerative lesions induce sprouting of new collaterals from surviving axons, but the extent to which this form of axonal remodelling alters brain functional structure remains unclear. To understand how collateral sprouting proceeds in the adult brain, we imaged post-lesion sprouting of cerebellar climbing fibres (CFs) in mice using in vivo time-lapse microscopy. Here we show that newly sprouted CF collaterals innervate multiple Purkinje cells (PCs) over several months, with most innervations emerging at 3–4 weeks post lesion. Simultaneous imaging of cerebellar functional structure reveals that surviving CFs similarly innervate functionally relevant and non-relevant PCs, but have more synaptic area on PCs near the collateral origin than on distant PCs. These results suggest that newly sprouted axon collaterals do not preferentially innervate functionally relevant postsynaptic targets. Nonetheless, the spatial gradient of collateral innervation might help to loosely maintain functional synaptic circuits if functionally relevant neurons are clustered in the lesioned area.

Neurodegenerative lesions induce sprouting from surviving axons, but the patterns of re-innervation of these collaterals in relation to existing functional networks remains unclear. Here the authors performed long term in vivo imaging in mice, of sprouts from cerebellar climbing fibers after a lesion, and describe the patterns of connectivity relative to functionally active zones.

Architecture and development of olivocerebellar circuit topography

The cerebellum has a simple tri-laminar structure that is comprised of relatively few cell types. Yet, its internal micro-circuitry is anatomically, biochemically, and functionally complex. The most striking feature of cerebellar circuit complexity is its compartmentalized topography. Each cell type within the cerebellar cortex is organized into an exquisite map; molecular expression patterns, dendrite projections, and axon terminal fields divide the medial-lateral axis of the cerebellum into topographic sagittal zones. Here, we discuss the mechanisms that establish zones and highlight how gene expression and neural activity contribute to cerebellar pattern formation. We focus on the olivocerebellar system because its developmental mechanisms are becoming clear, its topographic termination patterns are very precise, and its contribution to zonal function is debated. This review deconstructs the architecture and development of the olivocerebellar pathway to provide an update on how brain circuit maps form and function.

Developmental neural plasticity and its cognitive benefits: olivocerebellar reinnervation compensates for spatial function in the cerebellum

The adult mammalian central nervous system displays limited reinnervation and recovery from trauma. However, during development, post-lesion plasticity may generate alternative paths, thus providing models to investigate reinnervation and repair. After unilateral transection of the neonatal rat olivocerebellar path (pedunculotomy), axons from the remaining inferior olive reinnervate the denervated hemicerebellum. Unfortunately, reinnervation to the cerebellar hemisphere is incomplete; therefore, its capacity to mediate hemispheric function (navigation) is unknown. We studied sensorimotor control and spatial cognition of rats with and without transcommissural reinnervation using simple (bridge and ladder) and complex (wire) locomotion tests and the Morris water maze (hidden, probe and cued paradigms). Although pedunculotomized animals completed locomotory tasks more slowly than controls, all groups performed equally in the cued maze, indicating that lesioned animals could orientate to and reach the platform. In animals pedunculotomized on day 3 (Px3), which develop olivocerebellar reinnervation, final spatial knowledge was as good as controls, although they learned more erratically, failing to retain all information from one day to the next. By contrast, animals pedunculotomized on day 11 (Px11), which do not develop reinnervation, did not learn the task, taking less direct routes and more time to reach the platform than controls. In the probe test, control and Px3, but not Px11, animals swam directly to the remembered location. Furthermore, the amount of transcommissural reinnervation to the denervated hemisphere correlated directly with spatial performance. These results show that transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation is associated with spatial learning, i.e. even partial circuit repair confers significant functional benefit.

Post-lesion transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation improves motor function following unilateral pedunculotomy in the neonatal rat

In the adult mammalian central nervous system, reinnervation and recovery from trauma are limited. During development, however, post-lesion plasticity may generate alternate paths providing models to investigate reinnervation and repair. Sometimes, these paths are maladaptive, although the relationship between dysfunction and anatomical abnormality remains unknown. After unilateral transection of the neonatal rat olivocerebellar path (pedunculotomy), axons from the remaining inferior olive reinnervate Purkinje cells in the denervated hemicerebellum with appropriate topography and synaptic function. However, whether this new pathway confers beneficial behavioural effects remains unknown. We studied the behavioural sequelae in rats with and without transcommissural reinnervation using righting and vestibular-drop reflexes, simple locomotion (bridge), complex locomotion (wire) and motor coordination (rotarod) tests. In animals pedunculotomised on day 3 (Px3), which develop olivocerebellar reinnervation, dynamic postural adjustments and complex motor skills develop normally, whereas simple gait is broad-based and slightly delayed. In contrast, Px11 animals, which do not develop reinnervation, have delayed maturation of postural reflexes, gait and complex locomotor skills. In addition, when compared to control animals, their performance in locomotory tasks was slower and the complex task impaired. On the rotarod, control and Px3 animals learned to coordinate their gait and walked for longer at 10 and 20 rpm than Px11 animals. These results show that transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation is associated with almost normal motor development and the ability to synchronise gait at slow and moderate speeds, i.e. this reinnervation confers significant behavioural function and is therefore truly compensatory.

Naturally occurring neuronal death during the postnatal development of Purkinje cells and their precerebellar afferent projections

Naturally occurring neuronal death plays a substantial developmental role in the building of the neural circuitries. The neuronal death caused by different cerebellar mutations is mostly of an apoptotic nature. Apart from the identity of the intrinsic mechanisms of the mutations, adult cerebellar mutants are a powerful tool to causally study the development of the cerebellar connectivity. Thus, studies on adult cerebellar neuronal cell death occurring in mouse mutants elucidate: (i) the dependence of the postsynaptic neurons on their partners, (ii) the 'en cascade' postsynaptic transneuronal degeneration after target-deprivation, and (iii) the close relationship between the molecular modular organization of the cerebellar cortex and dying Purkinje cells. Neuronal cell death has been extensively studied in developing olivocerebellar system. However, less data are available on the occurrence of naturally occurring neuronal death during the in vivo normal development of the Purkinje cells and the mossy fiber system neurons. The developmental role of neuronal death during the establishment and refinement of the olivocerebellar projection is currently discussed. Moreover, the occurrence of neuronal death during the development of the basilar pontine nuclei and its role in the acquisition of the adult pontocerebellar projection is still poorly understood. In the present review, we correlate the dates of Purkinje cells death with the inferior olivary and basilar pontine neuronal apoptosis, discussing their developmental relationships during the elaboration of the fine-grained maps of the cerebellar afferent connections.

Reparative mechanisms in the cerebellar cortex

In the adult brain, different neuronal populations display different degrees of plasticity. Here, we describe the highly different plastic properties of inferior olivary neurones and Purkinje cells. Olivary neurones show a basal expression of growth-associated proteins, such as GAP-43 and Krox24/EGR-1, and remarkable remodelling capabilities of their terminal arbour. They also regenerate their transected neurites into growth-permissive territories and may reinnervate the lost target. Sprouting and regrowing olivary axons are able to follow specific positional information cues to establish new connections according to the original projection map. In addition, they set a strong cell body reaction to injury, which in specific olivary subsets is regulated by inhibitory target-derived cues. In contrast, Purkinje cells do not have a constitutive level of growth-associated genes, and show little cell body reaction, no axonal regeneration after axotomy, and weak sprouting capabilities. Block of myelin-derived signals allows terminal arbour remodelling, but not regeneration, while selective over-expression of GAP-43 induces axonal sprouting along the axonal surface and at the level of the lesion. We suggest that the high constitutive intrinsic plasticity of the inferior olive neurones allows their terminal arbour to sustain the activity-dependent ongoing competition with the parallel fibres in order to maintain the post-synaptic territory, and possibly underlies mechanisms of learning and memory. Such a plasticity is used also as a reparative mechanism following axotomy. In contrast, in Purkinje cells, poor intrinsic regenerative capabilities and myelin-derived signals stabilise the mature connectivity and prevent axonal regeneration after lesion.

Post-lesion transcommissural growth of olivary climbing fibres creates functional synaptic microzones

In the adult mammalian central nervous system, reinnervation and recovery from trauma is limited. During development, however, postlesion plasticity may generate alternate paths, providing models to investigate reinnervating axon-target interactions. After unilateral transection of the neonatal rat olivocerebellar path, axons from the ipsilateral inferior olive grow into the denervated hemicerebellum and develop climbing fibre (CF)-like arbors on Purkinje cells (PCs). However, the synaptic function and extent of PC reinnervation remain unknown. In adult rats pedunculotomized on postnatal day 3 the morphological and electrophysiological properties of reinnervating olivocerebellar axons were studied, using axonal reconstruction and patch-clamp PC recording of CF-induced synaptic currents. Reinnervated PCs displayed normal CF currents, and the frequency of PC reinnervation decreased with increasing laterality. Reinnervating CF arbors were predominantly normal but 6% branched within the molecular layer forming smaller secondary arbors. CFs arose from transcommissural olivary axons, which branched extensively near their target PCs to produce on average 36 CFs, which is six times more than normal. Axons terminating in the hemisphere developed more CFs than those terminating in the vermis. However, the precise parasagittal microzone organization was preserved. Transcommissural axons also branched, although to a lesser extent, to the deep cerebellar nuclei and terminated in a distribution indicative of the olivo-cortico-nuclear circuit. These results show that reinnervating olivocerebellar axons are highly plastic in the cerebellum, compensating anatomically and functionally for early postnatal denervation, and that this reparation obeys precise topographic constraints although axonal plasticity is modified by target (PC or deep nuclear neurons) interactions.

IGF-1 induces neonatal climbing-fibre plasticity in the mature rat cerebellum

Following unilateral transection (pedunculotomy) of the neonatal rat olivocerebellar pathway, the remaining inferior olive reinnervates the denervated hemicerebellum with correct topography. The critical period for this transcommissural reinnervation closes between postnatal days 7 and 10 but can be extended by injection of growth factors. Whether growth factor treatment can extend developmental plasticity into a mature, myelinated milieu remains unknown. Rats aged 11-30 days, underwent unilateral pedunculotomy followed 24 h later by injection of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) into the denervated cerebellum. In all animals, IGF-1 induced transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation, which displayed organisation consistent with normal olivocerebellar topography even following pedunculotomy up to day 20. Thus IGF-1 can reproduce developmental neuroplasticity to promote appropriate target reinnervation in a mature myelinated environment.

Climbing fiber development: do neurotrophins have a part to play?

The climbing fiber input to the cerebellum is crucial for its normal function but those factors which control the development of this precisely organized pathway are not fully elucidated. The neurotrophins are a family of peptides, which have many roles during development of the nervous system, including the cerebellum. Since the cerebellum and inferior olive express neurotrophins and their receptors, we propose that neurotrophins are involved in the regulation of climbing fiber development. Here we review the temporo-spatial expression of neurotrophins and their receptors at key ages during climbing fiber development and then examine evidence linking neurotrophins to climbing fiber development, including some of the intracellular pathways involved. During prenatal development the expression of neurotrophins in the hindbrain coupled with their function in neurogenesis and migration, is consistent with a role of NT3 in inferior olivary genesis. Subsequently, cerebellar expression of two neurotrophins, NT3 and NT4, is concurrent with olivary receptor expression and the time of olivary axonal outgrowth and this continues postnatally during early climbing fiber synaptogenesis on Purkinje cells. The expression-pattern of neurotrophins changes with age, with falling NGF, NT3 and NT4 but increasing granule cell BDNF. Importantly, olivary expression of neurotrophin receptors, and therefore climbing fiber responsiveness to neurotrophins, falls specifically during maturation of the climbing fiber-Purkinje cell synapse. The function of BDNF is less certain, but experimental studies indicate that it has a role in climbing fiber innervation of Purkinje cells, particularly synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. Its importance is highlighted by the overlap of BDNF signalling with several cellular pathways, which regulate climbing fiber maturation. From the data presented, we propose not only that neurotrophins are involved in climbing fiber development, but also that several act in a specific temporal order.

HRP injection in lobule VI-VII of the cerebellar cortex reveals a bilateral inferior olive projection in granuloprival rats

In immature rats, Purkinje cells receive synapses from multiple climbing fibers. During development, this multi-innervation regresses and only one climbing fiber innervates each Purkinje cell in the adult. The multi-innervation of immature rats is maintained in the adult if the precursors of the cerebellar granule cells are destroyed by early postnatal X-irradiation. The present study was undertaken to determine the origin of climbing fibers projecting to lobule VI-VII of the cerebellum in X-irradiated granuloprival rats. Olivary neurons were labelled by retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, which was injected by iontophoresis in the right vermis of lobule VI-VII. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the inferior olive were made for granuloprival and control rats. No significant variation in the shape and dimension of the olive was observed between the two groups. Labeled cells were found in the middle part of the median accessory olive (MAO). In control rats, stained cells were found only in the contralateral MAO, whereas in the granuloprival rats they were located in both the contralateral and the ipsilateral MAO. Homologous zones were marked in control and granuloprival rats in the middle part of MAO. In granuloprival rats, there was a symmetry in the distribution of the stained cells in the ipsi- and contralateral MAO along the three axes. Therefore, polyinnervation involves homologous regions of both inferior olivary nuclei.

Left Unilateral Inferior Pedunculotomy Prevents Neuronal Death During Postnatal Development of the Remaining Left Inferior Olivary Complex in the Rat

Neuronal death in the inferior olivary complex (IOC) was studied in control and unilaterally pedunculotomized newborn rats, from postnatal day 1 (P1) to P30, in order to test whether the approximately two-fold increase in available specific targets (i.e. Purkinje cells) that is theoretically provided by sectioning one inferior cerebellar peduncle to the developing climbing fibres of the remaining IOC could prevent the loss of inferior olivary neurons taking place during the first 2 weeks of postnatal life in the rat. Numerical estimation of the number of inferior olivary neurons in control and experimental rats showed that (i) in pedunculotomized rats, the number of inferior olivary neurons of the remaining inferior olivary complex was always greater than that encountered in control rats, (ii) the consistent decrease in the number of inferior olivary neurons observed in control animals between P2 and P8 was absent in cell counts of the pedunculotomized rats, and (iii) the increase in olivary cell number following the phase of cell decrease was also absent in pedunculotomized rats. It is concluded that the increase of available Purkinje cells during early postnatal development of the olivocerebellar projection prevents neuronal death in the remaining inferior olivary complex following pedunculotomy.

Target-specific innervation of embryonic cerebellar transplants by regenerating olivocerebellar axons in the adult rat

The reestablishment of topographically organized connections is a necessary prerequisite to obtain a full anatomical repair following brain injury. One system where such an issue can be addressed is the olivocerebellar system, where, normally, clusters of inferior olive neurons project to neurochemically heterogeneous Purkinje cell compartments defined by the expression of cell-specific markers, such as zebrin II. To assess whether adult injured olivocerebellar axons that regenerate into cerebellar transplants are able to establish target-specific innervation of grafted Purkinje cells, we made surgical transections in the white matter of adult rat cerebella and placed solid grafts from the embryonic cerebellar anlage into the lesion site. The transplanted tissue developed highly organized minicerebella, in which Purkinje cells were distributed into distinct clusters of zebrin II-immunopositive or -immunonegative neurons, mimicking the cortical compartments present in the normal adult cerebellum. Olivocerebellar axons, labeled by biotinylated dextran amine tracing, regenerated into the transplants where they formed discrete patches made of several terminal arbors impinging upon Purkinje cell dendrites. Among 401 such climbing fiber patches, 96% exclusively innervated Purkinje cells of either phenotype and stopped at the border of the zebrin II(+/-) Purkinje cell clusters, whereas only 4% were extended across this boundary and innervated both zebrin II-positive and -negative Purkinje cells. The results obtained support the view that the embryonic cerebellar tissue provides target-specific information that can be decoded by ingrowing adult olivocerebellar axons in order to establish appropriate innervation patterns with zebrin II-positive or -negative Purkinje cell compartments.

BDNF and NT3 extend the critical period for developmental climbing fibre plasticity

The effect on neonatal brain plasticity of two neurotrophins, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), was studied using the rat olivocerebellar projection as a model. Unilateral transection of climbing fibres (CFs) in the rat before postnatal day 7 induces reinnervation of the deafferented hemicerebellum, but this does not occur if the transection is performed after postnatal day 10. Eleven-day-old day rats underwent unilateral CF transection followed by neurotrophin injection into the denervated cerebellar cortex 24 h later. The exogenous neurotrophins induced CF reinnervation of the denervated hemicerebellum. However BDNF was more efficacious than NT-3. Thus two neurotrophins can extend the window of neonatal brain plasticity, therefore suggesting potential therapeutic use after brain trauma.

Localization of low affinity nerve growth factor receptor in the rat inferior olivary complex during development and plasticity of climbing fibres

The rat olivocerebellar pathway has a precise topography from an inferior olive (IOC) to Purkinje cells in the contralateral hemicerebellum. While its development and plasticity have been documented, the molecular mechanisms underlying these events are not fully elucidated. Neurotrophins are a family of growth factors with diverse roles in development and neuronal plasticity, acting through a two-receptor system, including a low affinity receptor (LNGFR) which binds all neurotrophins with similar affinity. Since neurotrophins are present in the cerebellum during early postnatal development when LNGFR is synthesized in the IOC, they may act as target-derived trophic agents for climbing fibres during development and plasticity. To assess this, standard immunohistochemistry was used to document the distribution of LNGFR in the rat IOC during climbing fibre development and until cerebellar development was complete at postnatal day 28 (P28). LNGFR immunoreactivity (LNGFR-IR) was detected in the IOC from P0 until P15, however after P7 it diminished in intensity and distribution, a change which indicates a relationship between cerebellar neurotrophins and climbing fibre development. After denervation of the left hemicerebellum, there was an apparent increase in inferior olivary LNGFR-IR that was concurrent with climbing fibre re-innervation. Thus the results of this study support the hypothesis that neurotrophins are involved in climbing fibre development and suggest a possible contribution to the plasticity of the olivocerebellar pathway.

Granule neuron DNA damage following deafferentation in adult rats cerebellar cortex: a lesion model

Neuronal programmed cell death is regulated by a neurotrophic supply from targets and afferent inputs. The relative contribution of each component varies according to neuronal type and age. We have previously reported that primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells undergo apoptosis when deprived of depolarising KCl concentrations, suggesting a significant role of afferent inputs in the control of cerebellar granule cells survival. This issue was investigated by setting up various in vivo lesional paradigms in order to obtain partial or total deafferentation of the cerebellar granule layer in adult rats. At different times after surgery, cerebellar sections were subjected to TUNEL staining in order to detect possible DNA damage. One week after unilateral pedunculotomy, few scattered groups of apoptotic granule neurons were observed in the homolateral hemisphere. On the contrary, total deafferentation obtained by a new experimental paradigm based on an "L-cut" lesion induced massive and widespread apoptotic death in the granule layer of the deafferentated area. The time window of DNA fragmentation in granule layer was one to seven days after the "L-cut". Selective Purkinje cell deafferentation obtained by 3-acetylpyridine injection did not result in TUNEL staining in the cerebellar cortex. The current finding that mossy fiber axotomy induces granule cell apoptotic death points out for the first time the crucial role of afferent inputs in mature granule cell survival. Moreover, the in vivo lesional model described here may prove to be an useful tool for investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal death triggered by deafferentation.

Phenotype changes of inferior olive neurons following collateral reinnervation

Inferior olive neurons are able to enlarge or retract their axonic terminal fields in response to changes in the extension of their target domain. Following Purkinje cell loss, the retraction of target-deprived climbing fibres is accompanied by a size reduction in the inferior olive neuron cell bodies. Here, we asked whether perikaryal modifications also occur when inferior olivary neurons enlarge their terminal fields to innervate supernumerary targets. To achieve this aim, we carried out a morphometric analysis on the somatic compartment of inferior olive neurons in two experimental conditions known to induce an expansion of their terminal field, i.e. a subtotal 3-acetylpyridine inferior olive lesion in the adult and a unilateral transection of the inferior cerebellar peduncle in newborn rats. In both experimental conditions, the inferior olive neurons that survived the lesion showed a remarkable increase in cell body and nuclear size, although the latter change was less pronounced in the 3-acetylpyridine-treated animals. These results show that both developing and mature inferior olive neurons are capable of adjusting their perikaryal phenotype to match the modifications of their target size.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 induces climbing fibre re-innervation of the rat cerebellum

The effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) on neonatal plasticity was studied using the rat olivocerebellar projection as a model. Unilateral removal of climbing fibres in the rat before postnatal day 7 induces re-innervation of the deafferented hemi-cerebellum, which does not occur after postnatal day 10. Rats aged 11 or 12 days underwent climbing fibre transection followed by IGF-1 injection into the denervated cerebellar cortex 24 h later. The exogenous IGF-1 induced climbing fibre re-innervation of the denervated hemicerebellum in a pattern similar to that seen in the immature rat. Thus IGF-1 can extend the window of neonatal plasticity of the brain and therefore may be of potential therapeutic use post-trauma.

Acute neuronal and vascular changes following unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy in the neonatal rat

During development of the central nervous system (CNS) both deafferentation and axotomy induce increased neuronal death and result in a smaller brain with diminished function at maturity. Unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy has been used as a model to study the relative importance of these 2 types of lesion on the survival of developing CNS neurons. Within the cerebellum, unilateral pedunculotomy causes deafferentation of the hemicerebellum and axotomy in the efferent pathway from the ipsilateral deep cerebellar nuclei. This results in a smaller hemicerebellum with normal cortical laminae but no extracerebellar outflow. In order to identify the sequence of events which leads to this altered structure and therefore to understand the relative importance of afferent versus target-derived trophic support, unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy was performed on neonatal rat pups, aged between 1 and 3 days. The cerebella were analysed for histological and vascular changes after survival times of 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 21, 24 and 48 h. The results show that the effects of axotomy on the deep cerebellar nuclear neurons begin within 3 h of the lesion and apoptotic neuronal degeneration occurs within 48 h. However, the cerebellar cortical neurons continue to undergo normal histological development for at least 48 h after deafferentation. In addition, since ischaemia induces similar effects, a study of the vascular tree was made. The results indicate that the pedunculotomy does not alter the blood supply to the cerebellum, nor induce ischaemia of the cerebellar neurons. From this it may be hypothesised that target-derived trophic support is more crucial for the survival of immature neurons than is the trophic effect of afferent input.

Reestablishment of the olivocerebellar projection map by compensatory transcommissural reinnervation following unilateral transection of the inferior cerebellar peduncle in the newborn rat

It is unclear whether reparative processes in the injured mammalian brain are able to restore the topographic organisation of neuronal connections. To address this question, we have investigated the plasticity of the olivocerebellar system. This pathway has a precise topographic arrangement, in which subsets of inferior olivary neurons project to parasagittally oriented Purkinje cell compartments. Following unilateral transection of the inferior cerebellar peduncle in newborn rats, axons from the contralateral projection cross the cerebellar midline and reinnervate the deafferented hemicerebellum. By this experimental approach, we first analysed the behaviour of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-immunoreactive climbing fibres. This marker is transiently expressed by a subset of developing inferior olivary axons, which terminate in the cerebellar cortex into several parasagittal strips. We show that transcommissural axons reestablish the original pattern of climbing fibre bands within a few days after lesion. Then, in adult animals injured at birth, we assessed whether the newly formed climbing fibre bands align with zebrin II+/- Purkinje cell compartments, as in normal conditions. The newly formed projection is organised in parasagittally oriented strips which mirror the distribution of their counterparts on the intact side and are precisely aligned to the heterogeneous Purkinje cell compartments. In addition, the patchy distribution of olivo-nuclear fibres suggests that specific reinnervation is also achieved in the deep nuclei. Thus, transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation is not random, but it is regulated by selective interactions between distinct subsets of olivocerebellar axons and target neurons aimed at reestablishing the correct projection map.

Reciprocal trophic interactions between climbing fibres and Purkinje cells in the rat cerebellum

In the adult cerebellum both the climbing fibre arbour and the Purkinje cell are very plastic and each element is able to exert a remarkable action on the other one. The adult phenotype of the Purkinje cell is strictly dependent on the presence of its climbing fibre arbour. When the climbing fibre is missing, the Purkinje cell undergoes a hyperspiny transformation and becomes hyperinnervated by the parallel fibres. However, this change is fully reversible. The climbing fibre-deprived Purkinje cell is able to elicit sprouting of nearby located intact climbing fibres and the new arbour is able to fully restore synaptic connections which appear normal both morphologically and functionally. Multiple climbing fibre innervation of a single Purkinje cell persists in the adult hypogranular cerebellum. The different fibres are distributed to separate dendritic regions, suggesting a local competition between the different arbours for their territory. It is postulated that in the intact rat, an activity dependent mechanism of the parallel fibre favours the predominance of one arbour with the elimination of its competitors. When the Purkinje cell is deleted, the climbing fibre arbour becomes heavily atrophic and reduced in size. The analysis of the pattern of this atrophy indicates that the climbing fibre arbour is made by two compartments: a proximal one, whose survival depends on the integrity of the inferior olive, and a distal one, which represents the true pre-synaptic site, which strictly depends on the target. The climbing fibre terminal arbour is able to extend its territory of innervation not only when adult intact climbing fibres are confronted with nearby denervated Purkinje cells, but also when an embryonic cerebellum is grafted onto the surface of an adult unlesioned cerebellum. In this case, collaterals of intact climbing fibre arbours elongate through the pial surface, enter the graft to innervate the Purkinje cells. This growth is likely under the influence of a tropic signal released by the embryonic Purkinje cells. This suggests that the sprouting observed in the adult rat following a subtotal inferior olive lesion is also triggered by a similar factor. The axonal elongation and the consequent synaptogenesis are likely guided by local cues. In this condition, the distribution of the new collateral reinnervation occurs within its projectional map. In addition, when the inferior cerebellar peduncle is sectioned at birth, the climbing fibres of the non-deafferented hemicerebellum emit collaterals which cross the midline and innervate cerebellar strips which are symmetrically positioned relative to the intact side. In the grafting experiments, both the migrated and non-migrated Purkinje cells show the typical electrophysiological properties of the mature cerebellum. These data show that the disappearance of neuronal elements is not a necessary prerequisite to allow new neurones to become fully morphologically and functionally integrated into an adult brain. The reciprocal trophic influence between the climbing fibres and the Purkinje cells shown in the present series of experiments are likely operative in the adult brain not only in pathological conditions and they could give a basic contribution to the synaptic plasticity underlying learned behaviour.

Ipsilaterally located olivocerebellar projection neurons of the chick

The use of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and 1,1'-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'- tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) as retrograde tracers, applied in vitro within the olivocerebellar tract of both embryos (9 to 21 days old) and postnatal (3-60 days old) chickens, has allowed the observation of a small population of neurons located ipsilaterally to the placement of the tracer. These neurons, whose morphology indicated that they belong to the inferior olive rather than to the reticular formation or the raphe nuclei, followed the same developmental steps as normally placed inferior olivary neurons. Furthermore, pedunculotomy experiments made on 3-day-old chickens demonstrated that ipsilateral neurons sent their axons through the cerebellar peduncle. In contrast to the completely crossed arrangement of the olivocerebellar projection, the present results show the existence, as in the rat, of a few ipsilateral inferior olivary neurons whose significance is unclear.

Abnormal ipsilateral functional vibrissae projection onto Purkinje cells multiply innervated by climbing fibers in the rat

We have previously shown that synapse elimination occurring in the climbing fiber (CF)-Purkinje cell (PC) relationships during normal postnatal development is likely involved in the refinement of vibrissae projections onto the cerebellar cortex. In normal adult rats, CF-mediated vibrissae projections onto cerebellar Purkinje cells of the vermis of lobule VII are strictly contralateral and located in a narrow microzone whereas they are widely distributed in rats whose PCs remained multiply innervated by CFs due to postnatal irradiation. Given the proximity of this microzone to the midline, the question arose as to whether this synapse elimination process could participate in the segregation of ipsilateral and contralateral projections. In the present study, we compared the topographical map of the ipsilateral and contralateral CF-mediated projections of the third row of vibrissae onto the vermal PCs of lobule VII in adult normal rats and in polyinnervated rats. Using intracellular electrophysiological recordings, we examined the responsiveness of PCs to mechanical stimulation of vibrissae, and positioned responsive cells on an averaged planar map of lobule VII. In normal rats no ipsilateral responses were found, while in irradiated rats ipsilateral responses were distributed evenly from the midline to 700 microns apart. These results suggest that synapse elimination participates in the segregation of ipsi and contralateral mystacial inputs to the vermis.

Morphological evidence for the presence of ipsilateral inferior olivary neurons during postnatal development of the olivocerebellar projection in the rat

The presence of ipsilateral inferior olivary neurons during postnatal development of the olivocerebellar projection in the rat was investigated by two in vitro axonal tracing methods and by the axotomy of one olivocerebellar tract. The experiments were carried out before (P1), during (P5-P10) and after (P20) the period of multiple innervation of Purkinje cells by climbing fibers. According to present results: (1) ipsilateral inferior olivary neurons are distributed, on all analyzed days, throughout the entire inferior olive; (2) cell counts after axotomy experiments demonstrated that they represent a small population of inferior olivary neurons, whose number oscillated between 271 +/- 30 in young animals (pedunculotomized at P1 and killed at P7) and 26 +/- 12 in older ones (pedunculotomized at P20 and killed at P40). This experiment confirmed that most of these neurons are eliminated during the regressive events that take place during normal development of the olivocerebellar projection; and (3) few ipsilateral inferior olivary neurons, however, survive at P40, but their significance is still unclear.

Topographic spinocerebellar mossy fiber projections are maintained in the lurcher mutant

A variety of recent studies of cerebellar development have focused attention on the role of Purkinje cells as organizing elements for the topography of afferent fiber connectivity in the cerebellum. We have investigated the involvement of Purkinje and granule cells in the maintenance of topographic spinocerebellar mossy fiber projections by analyzing the distribution of spinocerebellar mossy fiber terminals in lurcher (+/Lc) mutant mice. Purkinje cells in the +/Lc mutant degenerate starting after the first week of postnatal development because of an intrinsic genetic defect. The loss of their Purkinje cell targets also results in the death of 90% of the granule cells. We examined the distribution of spinocerebellar mossy fiber terminals in the juvenile and adult +/Lc mutant to determine how the pattern of afferent projections is affected by the loss of Purkinje cells shortly after innervation of the cerebellum. Labeling of spinocerebellar mossy fiber terminals with WGA-HRP in the P38 and adult +/Lc mutant showed that, despite the loss of almost all Purkinje cells and 90% of the granule cells, spinocerebellar mossy fibers project to the appropriate folia and segregate into relatively normal parasagittal bands. While we cannot rule out the possibility that Purkinje cells may be involved in the initial establishment of topographic maps, our results indicate that Purkinje cells are not necessary for the maintenance of the normal spinocerebellar mossy fiber topographic map.

Transient ipsilateral innervation of the cerebellum by developing olivocerebellar neurons. A retrograde double-labelling study with fast blue and diamidino yellow

In neonatal rats the injection of Fast Blue and Diamidino Yellow retrograde fluorescent tracers, each into separate cerebellar hemispheres, reveals the presence of double-labelled neurons positioned bilaterally in the inferior olivary complex during the early postnatal period (postnatal day 0 to postnatal day 5). This suggests that those neurons whose axons are able to take up both tracers project to both hemicerebellar during this period of postnatal development. Double-labelled neurons were observed in one- and five-day-old injected postnatal rats, but were absent in older animals (10 and 30 days old). The presence of these neurons coincides with a transient period of poly-innervation of Purkinje cells by climbing fibres. They may thus be participating in transitory interactions preceding the formation of definitive climbing fibre synaptic arrangements in the cerebellar cortex. The technique employed is unable to clearly define the pathway of this transient olivocerebellar projection into the ipsilateral cerebellum; however, in direct evidence--like the topographic distribution of double-labelled neurons relative to tracer injection sites, and the small number of single-labelled neurons within the ipsilateral olivary complex, together with previous data on the axonogenesis of olivary neurons [Bourrat and Sotelo (1988) Devl Brain Res. 39, 19-37]--suggests that these fibres reach the cerebellum through the contralateral inferior cerebellar peduncle and give rise to collaterals, some of which subsequently decussate again within the cerebellum. These fibres probably represent transient collaterals of the normally contralateral olivocerebellar fibres that cross the cerebellar midline and reach mirror-image loci within the ipsilateral hemicerebellum.

Cerebellar Purkinje cells provide target support over a limited spatial range: evidence from lurcher chimeric mice

The distribution of Purkinje cells, granule cells, and olivary neurons was quantitatively analyzed in a lurcher +/Lc in equilibrium C3H/HeJ chimera in which the surviving wild type Purkinje cells were unilaterally distributed in the left hemicerebella. The left hemisphere of this mouse contains 7600 Purkinje cells, approximately 10% of the number of Purkinje cells in inbred C3H/HeJ mice. The right hemisphere contains 300 Purkinje cells, all of which are found within 200 microns of the midline. As in other +/Lc in equilibrium wild type chimeras, the ratio of granule cells to Purkinje cells is increased in the left hemisphere, reflecting increased granule cell survival. In the right hemisphere, however, the number of granule cells is reduced to that found in +/Lc mutants. In the inferior olive, almost twice as many neurons are found in the right nucleus as opposed to the left nucleus. As the projections of olivary neurons are crossed, the number of olivary neurons is increased in the nuclei that project to the cerebellar hemisphere containing Purkinje cells compared to the olivary nuclei that project to the cerebellar hemisphere with almost no Purkinje cells. The preferential survival of granule cells and olivary neurons that either occupy or project to the hemicerebellum containing Purkinje cells suggests that the availability of trophic support from target Purkinje cell neurons is spatially restricted.

Olivary morphology and olivocerebellar topography in adult lurcher mutant mice

In adult lurcher mice, in which virtually all cerebellar Purkinje cells have degenerated as a direct consequence of mutant gene action, the inferior olivary complex suffers a severe retrograde transneuronal atrophy. Our analysis indicates a 63% cell loss in the lurcher inferior olive, homogeneously distributed between the medial and dorsal accessory, and principal olivary subdivisions. Olivary neurons are reduced in cross-sectional area by 30% in lurcher mice, compared to normal controls. All olivary subdivisions morphologically identifiable in normal mice are also found in the lurcher inferior olive. Analysis of olivocerebellar topography by retrograde transport of lectin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase and fluorogold, in both single and double labeling paradigms, reveals no abnormalities in the general organization of this highly ordered projection. This stability may be based on the initial establishment of the topographic pattern in late embryogenesis or early postnatal periods, prior to the onset of lurcher Purkinje cell degeneration, or, alternatively, the lurcher gene may not alter critical afferent and target characteristics at stages when the topographic relationship is being established. Once established, the olivocerebellar projection is apparently not dependent on the Purkinje cell for long-term maintenance of its general topographic organization.

Reinnervation of cerebellar Purkinje cells by climbing fibres surviving a subtotal lesion of the inferior olive in the adult rat. I. Development of new collateral branches and terminal plexuses

Cerebellar climbing fibres react by collateral sprouting after subtotal lesions of the inferior olive, and the newly formed branches are able to reinnervate neighbouring denervated Purkinje cells. In the present paper, we used the Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) tracing technique to label the climbing fibres and study their plasticity in detail at the light microscopical level. The specific objectives were to study the time course and morphological aspects of their sprouting, to estimate their extent of growth, and to compare the newly formed terminal plexuses with normal climbing fibres. Intraperitoneal injection of 3-acetylpyridine induced degeneration of the majority of the olivary neurones, which terminate as climbing fibres in the cerebellar cortex. Regularly, small numbers of neurones survived in the inferior olive. In the cerebellar cortex scattered surviving climbing fibres were found, which were devoid of any sign of injury. Already 3 days after the lesion, surviving climbing fibres had emitted collateral branches, which elongated for some distance through the molecular layer and ended with a number of varicosities and very fine branchlets. By 7 days, it was possible to recognize new developing arbours which grew in the molecular layer with the same orientation as normal climbing fibres. At longer survival times, extensive terminal arbours had developed and double labelling experiments confirmed that they terminated around the proximal dendrites of Purkinje cells. The newly formed terminal plexuses resembled, in all essential aspects, normal climbing fibres. In addition, from 1 month onward, it was evident that every surviving climbing fibre was able to form several new terminal plexuses reinnervating a number of neighbouring Purkinje cells. The result of this process was the formation of large clusters of newly formed plexuses around the parental arborization. Quantitative estimates indicated that the domain of innervation of single surviving climbing fibres could be increased by more than six times. It is concluded that climbing fibres surviving a subtotal olivary lesion are capable of extensive sprouting, axonal growth, and formation of new terminal plexuses, which resemble normal climbing fibres. Previous electrophysiological evidence indicates that this reinnervation is functional. The high specificity with which sprouting olivary axons reinnervate the proximal Purkinje cell dendrites suggests the existence of precise interactions between the growing fibres and their target. This example of "homotypic" collateral sprouting and reinnervation may thus provide a useful model for the study of nerve-target interactions.

Effects of unilateral climbing fibre deafferentation on cytochrome oxidase activity in the developing rat cerebellum

In a previous study, we found a relationship between climbing fibre synaptogenesis and cytochrome oxidase activity in Purkinje cells during normal development of the rat cerebellum. To determine whether removal of a major depolarizing afferent would alter the level of cytochrome oxidase activity in a post-synaptic neuron, climbing fibre input to Purkinje cells in the right hemicerebellum was interrupted by unilateral pedunculotomy in postnatal day 1 rat pups. After survival to postnatal day 5 (P5) or postnatal day 10 (P10), the cytochrome oxidase reactivity of mitochondria, packing density of mitochondria and perikaryal area of Purkinje cell somata were quantified at the electron microscopic level and compared with the same parameters in both sham-operated animals and normal controls. We found that the areal and numerical densities of darkly reactive mitochondria were lower in deafferented cells than those in the sham-operated animals. Cells of sham-operated animals, however, had higher densities of darkly reactive mitochondria than those in normal animals of the same age group, indicating that cell shrinkage or retarded growth had an effect on the levels of cytochrome oxidase activity in the operated animals. In addition, both operated groups had higher numerical densities of mitochondria than cells of normal animals, reflecting the decreased cell size of the sham and deafferented groups. From these data, we concluded that neonatal destruction of climbing fibres leads to lower levels of cytochrome oxidase activity in Purkinje cell somata that survived to both P5 and P10. The data from the P5 animals was more striking than that from P10, perhaps reflecting the increased number of synaptic interactions of Purkinje cells at P10. We also concluded that destruction of excitatory input did not lead to changes in the total area or number of mitochondria in a post-synaptic neuron, indicating that there was a conversion from darkly to lightly reactive mitochondria in the partially deafferented neurons; however, this may also reflect the smaller cell size of the deafferented group. Thus, our results further substantiate the close relationship between the levels of cytochrome oxidase activity in Purkinje cell somata and the type of input that they receive or fail to receive.

Specificity of corticospinal axon arbors sprouting into denervated contralateral spinal cord

Previous studies have reported considerable plasticity in the rodent corticospinal pathway in response to injury. This includes sprouting of intact axons from the normal pathway into the contralateral spinal cord denervated by an early corticospinal lesion. We carried out the present study to obtain detailed information about the time course, origin, and degree of specificity of corticospinal axons sprouting in response to denervation. Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) ranging in age from 5 to 23 days received unilateral lesions of the left medullary pyramidal tract. Two weeks after the lesion, small regions of the right sensorimotor cortex opposite the lesion were injected with the plant lectin Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L). After a further 2 week survival period, immunohistochemistry was carried out on frozen sections of the fixed brains and spinal cords. Detailed morphological analysis of PHA-L labeled corticospinal axons revealed that sprouting from the intact corticospinal pathway into the contralateral denervated spinal cord occurred only at local spinal levels and not at the pyramidal decussation. Arbors sprouting into the denervated cord frequently arose from corticospinal axons that branched into the normal side of the cord as well. Sprouting was maximal after early lesions (5 days) and declined with lesions at later ages up to 19 days. Sprouting corticospinal axons arborized with the same degree of functional and topographic specificity as previously reported for normal corticospinal arbors (Kuang and Kalil: J. Comp. Neurol. 292:585-598, '90), such that axons arising from somatosensory cortex projected only to the dorsal horn, those from motor cortex innervated only the ventral horn, and normal forelimb and hindlimb topography was preserved. Sprouting fibers also had normal branching patterns. Parallel studies of developing corticospinal arbors showed that sprouting could not be attributed to maintenance or expansion of early bilateral connections. These results suggest that local signals, most likely similar to those governing normal corticospinal development, elicit corticospinal sprouting and determine specificity of axon arbors.

Hemicerebellectomy and motor behaviour in rats. I. Development of motor function after neonatal lesion

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of a neonatal hemicerebellectomy (HCb) on the motor development of rats and to determine whether various aspects of motor behaviour were affected to a similar degree. Postnatal development of postural reflexes, locomotion and dynamic postural adjustments was examined during the first four months of life in normal and in neonatal HCbed rats. The results indicate that classes of motor responses are controlled by cerebellar networks to clearly different extents. Emergence of quadruped stance, placing reactions and swimming development were unaffected by neonatal cerebellar lesion. Righting reflexes, cliff avoidance and geotaxic reactions, pivoting and crawling all showed a delayed development although the subsequent recovery was almost complete. The complex postural adjustments required in crossing a narrow path or in suspending on a wire remained permanently impaired. Finally, some behaviours developed normally and only subsequently became defective. This "growing into a deficit" was displayed by the progressively reduced hindlimb grasping and the development of a vestibular drop response with a directional bias. An impressive finding was the shifting of postural asymmetries from the lesion side to the contralateral one occurring around the third postnatal week. These data providing a description of the effect of HCb on motor development are interpreted as indicating a progressive involvement of the archi- and neo-cerebellar structures in the motor function of the rat.

Plasticity in the adult and neonatal central nervous system

The adult nervous system is capable of plastic change; studies have shown that plasticity is part of normal adaptation to daily life as well as being part of the response to trauma. The structural substrates of plastic change are described, and the hypotheses for explaining functional recovery in adults following trauma are reviewed. Events in normal brain development are summarized, and experiments designed to investigate the processes involved are described. The brain of the neonate is a much more plastic structure than that of the adult, both in normal development and in response to trauma. Activity in pathways is an essential component for consolidation of connections, whether normal or compensatory. Experiments which elucidate the mechanisms of axonal/target recognition are described. Recent work on the possible development of therapeutic agents to enhance recovery from trauma, in both adults and neonates, is reviewed. An attempt is made to link the findings from basic research to the clinical field.

Rostral Cerebellum Originates from the Caudal Portion of the So-Called 'Mesencephalic' Vesicle: A Study Using Chick/Quail Chimeras

Homotopic and isochronic transplantations of the right dorsal half of the mesencephalic vesicle have been performed between chick and quail embryos at the stage of 10 - 14 somites. Analysis of the extension of the graft, by means of the quail nucleolar marker, combined with cytoarchitectonic analysis has disclosed that the transplanted neuroepithelium gives rise to isthmic nuclei and to a portion of rostral cerebellum, in addition to the optic tectum and mesencephalic dorsal grisea. These results show that the rostral portion of the cerebellar primordium is located in the so-called 'mesencephalic' alar plate, thus considerably more rostrally than previously supposed. This has been confirmed by two other types of chimeric embryos resulting from homotopic transplantation of either: (i) the quail right alar plate of the first rhombencephalic vesicle, which gives rise to caudal but not rostral cerebellum in the operated side, or (ii) the right alar portion of a segment of the quail neural tube including both the caudal third of the mesencephalic vesicle and the rostral half of the first rhombencephalic vesicle, which gives rise to the whole hemicerebellum in the operated side. Moreover, in chimeric embryos with transplants restricted to the mesencephalic alar plate, the grafted portion of the cerebellar primordium gives rise both to deep cerebellar neurons and to all types of cortical neurons. Among the quail cortical neurons, the Purkinje cells, although intermingled with host Purkinje cells, are organized, at E18, in a characteristic longitudinal band which is strongly reminiscent of the longitudinal functional and morphological organization of the cerebellum. Other types of quail cortical neurons, that is, Golgi cells, granule cells, and molecular layer interneurons, are also observed within this sagittal band. In addition, quail granule cells and molecular layer interneurons as well as quail glial cells, extend over a larger territory on both sides of the longitudinal band containing quail Purkinje cells and even cross the midline and invade the contralateral hemicerebellum. In all types of chimeric embryos, the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of quail transplanted neurons, both in the isthmic region and in the cerebellum, evolve asynchronously from the host homologous ones, following a more precocious and faster developmental schedule. This asynchrony in the development of grafted and host isthmic and cerebellar homologous areas confirms and extends previous findings concerning the proliferation and migration of quail tectal cells in chick quail chimeric embryos (Senut and Alvarado-Mallart, 1987).

Organization of Host Afferents to Cerebellar Grafts Implanted into Kainate Lesioned Cerebellum in Adult Rats

This paper examines the organization of host afferents within cerebellar grafts implanted into kainic acid lesioned cerebellum. Our selection of a cerebellum, a prime example of a 'point-to-point' system, permits precise determination of the degree and the specificity of host-graft interactions. One month after a cerebellar injection of kainic acid, the lesion produced can be divided into two concentric regions: (i) a central necrotic zone, totally depleted of neurons (zone 1), and (ii) a peripheral zone which lacks all Purkinje cells but preserves its cortical lamination (zone 2). Two months after the implantation of solid pieces of embryonic cerebellum, the graft has evolved into a minicerebellar structure, occupying most of zone 1. The grafted minicerebellum consists of a highly convoluted trilaminated cortex with a core containing deep nuclear neurons. Purkinje cells are positioned between the molecular and granular layer with their short and irregular dendrites branching within the former. Donor foetal Purkinje cells migrate into the contiguous portion of the molecular layer of the host zone 2. These embryonic neurons set up within the upper three-quarters of the host molecular layer, and develop monoplanar dendritic trees that span the whole width of the layer. The organization of host-graft interactions was studied by autoradiography of anterogradely transported tritiated leucine, injected in the host bulbar region containing the caudal half of the inferior olivary complex (origin of all vermal climbing fibres) and the dorsally adjacent paramedian reticular nucleus (origin of a few mossy fibres). Numerous labelled fibres cross the host-graft interface from the white matter of the host cerebellum, and provide innervation to the minicerebellar structure. The vast majority of these labelled axons terminate in the molecular layer, forming axonal arborizations that follow the shape of the Purkinje cell dendrites. The labelled climbing fibres are organized into uneven sagittally aligned strips, which mimic that of olivocerebellar projections in control rats. Only a small proportion of host labelled fibres end in the donor granular layer, forming typical mossy fibre rosettes. The latter are present in the region of the graft close to the host-graft interface. In addition, labelled axons are observed climbing over the dendritic trees of grafted Purkinje cells that have invaded a portion of the host molecular layer of zone 2. In all regions containing grafted Purkinje cells and labelled climbing fibres, the density of the innervation is close to normal with practically all Purkinje cells receiving a climbing fibre. The extensive integration of the grafted cells into the deficient neuronal networks of the host clearly illustrates the positive neurotropic effect exerted by immature cerebellar neurons on adult extracerebellar afferent fibres. The hodological integration, allowing a possible restoration of the impaired cerebellar circuitry, takes place respecting the specificity and topographic distribution which characterize the 'point-to-point' arrangement of normal cerebellar circuitry.

Cerebellar afferents in early postnatal rats: a retrograde fluorescence study

The development of afferent projections to the cerebellum was studied by making small (20 nl) injections of True blue into the cerebella of neonatal rats under general anaesthesia. Neurones in all main precerebellar nuclei were labelled even in rats less than one day old. With the exception of the disappearance of small numbers of ipsilateral olivocerebellar projections, no qualitative differences were seen after injections in animals one or two weeks older.

Neuronal death and synapse elimination in the olivocerebellar system: III. Cell counts in the inferior olive of developing rats X-irradiated from birth

The change with age of cell number in the developing inferior olivary nucleus (ION) of the normal rat, compared to the time course of the regression of the polyneuronal innervation of Purkinje cells by olivary axons (i.e., the climbing fibers), suggests that the involution of the redundant olivocerebellar contacts is caused by a reduction of axonal branching rather than by degeneration of the parent cells, this being also suggested by the normal size of the olivary population in adult rodents whose Purkinje cells retain polyneuronal innervation. However, the similar size of the adult ION population does not necessarily imply that the development history is the same in normal and multiply innervated adult rodents. Therefore, cell counts were performed in developing rats which had been repeatedly X-irradiated from birth until postnatal day 14 and which retained polyneuronal innervation. The results show that, although less marked than during normal development, the evolution of the ION population is also characterized by a phase of cell loss followed by a slow increase. However, the number of cells in X-irradiated rats is higher than in their controls from birth to postnatal day 15 but becomes identical at 20 days and later. These data confirm that cell death in the ION does not play a major role in the shaping of olivocerebellar connections.

Localization of CRF-immunoreactive neurons in the cat medulla oblongata: their presence in the inferior olive

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-immunoreactive (IR) perikarya, visualized by the indirect immunoperoxidase method in colchicine-pretreated cats, were localized in many discrete regions of the medulla oblongata. They were found mainly in the dorsal aspect and midline of the medulla oblongata, and more rostrally in the ventrolateral portion. Our results also demonstrated CRF-IR neurons in the rostrocaudal extent of the inferior olive, probably projecting to the cerebellar cortex via thick axons visualized along the lateral edge of the medulla. CRF-IR olivary cells were also found in the pontine cat from which the forebrain was removed, but neither in hypophysectomized nor adrenalectomized cats.

An ipsilateral olivocerebellar pathway in the normal neonatal rat demonstrated by the retrograde transport of true blue

Neonatal rats, aged less than 24 h, were anaesthetised and 25 nl of 2% True blue was injected into the lateral part of the left cerebellar hemisphere. After 48-60 h, the brains were fixed by perfusion and 30 micron thick frozen sections were prepared of the brainstem and cerebellum. Only animals in which the injection sites were clearly unilateral were studied. In the contralateral inferior olive numerous True blue-labelled neurones were seen. In addition, the ipsilateral olive in all animals contained True blue-labelled neurones. This demonstrates that in these neonatal animals there is an ipsilateral olivocerebellar pathway.

Morphology of Purkinje cell axon terminals in intracerebellar nuclei following inferior olive lesion

We have examined the ultrastructural changes of axons and synaptic boutons in the intracerebellar nuclei of the rat at 3 days to one year after inferior olive lesion performed by means of electrocoagulation or 3-acetylpyridine injection. A large number of preterminal segments and axons terminals undergoes remarkable ultrastructural changes after total or subtotal olivary lesion. Large membrane bound vacuoles and clusters of small synaptic vesicles characterize a good number of these terminals at 3 days up to one month after the lesion. Tightly packed tubules and cisternae of smooth endoplasmic reticulum appear during the first week in an increasing number of axon terminals. Boutons with large whorled bodies formed by smooth membranes increase in number during the second half of the first month and further increase in density until the sixth month. They are still present in large amounts at one year. Immunoreactivity for 3',5'-guanosine-phosphate-dependent protein kinase, which is specific for Purkinje neurons, can be detected in the axons and synaptic terminals displaying the ultrastructural changes described above. These results are discussed in relation to a possible trophic action of the climbing fibers on the Purkinje cells. We suggest that, at least in part, these alterations may be the consequence of the intense Purkinje cell hyperactivity which is present for up to one month from inferior olive lesion.

Nerve cell atrophy and loss in the inferior olivary complex of "Purkinje cell degeneration" mutant mice

The genetically determined loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) in "Purkinje cell degeneration" (pcd) mutant mice deprives inferior olivary (IO) neurons of their major postsynaptic target. The degeneration of PCs starts on postnatal day (P) 17 and loss of these neurons is virtually complete by P45. We examined the inferior olivary complex (IOC) of normal and pcd mutant mice by quantitative light microscopy to determine whether the degeneration of PCs is associated with atrophy and loss of their presynaptic neurons in the IOC. The number of IO neurons in 17-day-old mutants did not differ significantly from controls (P greater than .1). IO neurons in 23-day-old mutants were 23% (95% confidence limits: 12-34%) fewer than in age-matched controls, and in 300-day-old mutants they were 48% (95% confidence limits: 37-58%) fewer than in their controls (P less than .001 in both cases). The decline of the number of IO neurons in pcd mice between days 17 and 300 was 49% (P less than .0001; 95% confidence limits: 38-57%). The medial accessory olive (MAO) appeared less affected than the principal (PO) and the dorsal accessory olive (DAO). The mean neuronal diameter in control mice was 11.6 micron at 23 days and 10.8 micron at 300 days of age. The respective values in pcd mutants were 11.5 micron and 8.7 micron. Diameters in old mutants were significantly smaller than those in both age-matched controls and young mutants (P less than .001). These findings suggest that in the mature olivocerebellar system the stability of IO neurons depends on the state of their postsynaptic PCs.

The effect of unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy on the vascular development of the neonatal rat cerebellum

After cerebellar pedunculotomy the density of the blood vessel network in the cerebellar cortex was not different from that in the control animals. But the pattern of the blood vessels was different, being less organized in the operated animals.

Localization of glutamic-acid-decarboxylase-immunoreactive axon terminals in the inferior olive of the rat, with special emphasis on anatomical relations between GABAergic synapses and dendrodendritic gap junctions

Immunocytochemical and electron microscopic methods were used to examine the GABAergic innervation of the inferior olivary nucleus in adult rats. This neuronal system was visualized with an antibody against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD, EC 4.1.1.15), the GABA-synthesizing enzyme. A GAD-positive reaction product was encountered only in short segments of preterminal axons and in axon terminals. Their relative number per unit area of neuropil was very similar in all olivary subnuclei. Despite this homogeneity in density, obvious intraregional differences existed. Some regions were strongly immunoreactive (the "c" subgroup, the beta nucleus, and the mediolateral outgrowth of the medial accessory olive), whereas others were weakly labeled (the dorsomedial cell column and the central zones of the medial accessory and principal olives). The strongly immunoreactive areas contained the largest and most intensively labeled axon terminals. Areas of weak labeling were filled with small, weakly immunoreactive nerve terminals. Thus, variations in size and in intensity of labeling create a specific pattern of GABA innervation, revealed by an almost continuous gradient between the above-mentioned extremes. The GAD-positive axon terminals established conventional synapses with dendrites (94% of the samples) or with cell bodies (6%). The vast majority of these synapses were type II (84%) and only a small proportion formed type I synaptic contacts (16%), regardless of the nature of the postsynaptic element. Immunoreactive terminals were also involved in the complex synaptic arrangements--the glomeruli, which characterize the olivary neuropil. Within these formations, olivary neurons were electrotonically coupled through dendrodendritic gap junctions. There was a constant association between GAD-positive axon terminals and small dendritic appendages linked by gap junctions. This association was revealed not only by the systematic presence of immunolabeled terminals directly apposed to the dendritic appendages but, more importantly, by the frequent presence of type II synapses straddling both elements. These synapses were in close proximity to the low-resistance pathways represented by the gap junctions. The strategic location of these GABA synapses is discussed in relation to recent findings indicating the possibility of a synaptic modulation of the electrical coupling: the release of GABA, by increasing nonjunctional membrane conductance, could shunt the coupling between olivary neurons. The functional decoupling of selected gap junctions would be responsible for the spatial organization of the olivary electrotonic coupling.