The Cerebellar White Matter

Abstract

The afferent and efferent fibers of cerebellar cortex were first described by Golgi (1874, 1882), Ramón y Cajal (1888), Kölliker (1890), Van Gehuchten (1891), Retzius (1892a), Lugaro (1894), Dogiel (1896), Held (1897), Athias (1897), and Bielschowsky and Wolff (1904). For a detailed review, see Ramón y Cajal (1911). In his monumental treatise, Ramón y Cajal described the connections of the cerebellum with other zones of central nervous system via the cerebellar peduncles. Eccles, Ito, and Szentágothai (1967), Brodal (1969), and Larsell and Jansen (1972) later reported detailed descriptions of afferent and efferent pathways. Elegant light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopic (EM) descriptions of afferent and efferent pathways were subsequently published by Palay and Chan-Palay (1974), and Ito (1984). Castejón and Sims (1999, 2000), Castejón, Castejón, & Sims (2000a), and Castejón, Castejón, and Alvarado (2000b) reported the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) characterization of mossy and climbing fibers in the white matter of vertebrate cerebellar cortex.