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Cerebellum—from J. E. Purkyně up to Contemporary Research

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Abstract

Jan. Evangelista Purkyně, the most famous among Czech physiologists, was the first who identified and described the largest nerve cells in the cerebellum. The most distinguished researchers of the nervous system then recommended naming these neurons Purkinje cells in his honor. Through experiments by Purkinje and his followers, the function of the cerebellum was properly attributed to the precision of motor movements and skills. This traditional concept was valid until early 1990s, when it was readjusted and replenished with new and important findings. It was discovered that the cerebellar cortex contains more neurons than the cerebral cortex and shortly thereafter was gradually revealed that such enormous numbers of neural cells are not without impact on brain functions. It was shown that the cerebellum, in addition to its traditional role, also participates in higher nervous activity. These new findings were obtained thanks to the introduction of modern methods of examination into the clinical praxis, and experimental procedures using animal models of cerebellar disorders described in this work.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this article was supported by the Charles University Research Fund (project number P36), the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen and by the National Sustainability Program I (NPU I) Nr. LO1503 provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, alej Svobody 1655/76, 323 00, Pilsen, Czech Republic

    František Vožeh

  2. Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Biomedical Centre, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Pilsen, Czech Republic

    František Vožeh

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  1. František Vožeh
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Correspondence to František Vožeh.

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Vožeh, F. Cerebellum—from J. E. Purkyně up to Contemporary Research. Cerebellum 16, 691–694 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-016-0835-4

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