Abstract
The unipolar brush cells (UBCs) are excitatory interneurons in the granule cell layer of the cerebellar cortex. They amplify extra-cerebellar inputs from vestibular origin as well as other inputs whose origin is the focus of ongoing research. The UBCs are classified in two functionally and chemically distinct subclasses. Type I UBCs express calretinin, are regularly firing, and are located in lobules IX and X. Type II UBCs are characterized by expression of mGluR1α, are burst firing and are present throughout the cerebellum, although they are enriched in the vestibulo-cerebellum. Both UBC types show peculiarly slow glutamatergic currents in response to synaptic activation. This electrophysiological property suggests a critical role for these cells in determining the timing of the response of the cerebellar cortex to the peripheral inputs. Recent data also suggest that cerebellar UBCs may be involved in cerebellar ataxias and represent a potential cellular substrate for the generation of tinnitus.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Baizer JS, Manohar S, Paolone NA, Weinstock N, Salvi RJ (2012) Understanding tinnitus: the dorsal cochlear nucleus, organization and plasticity. Brain Res 1485:40–53
Bauer CA, Wisner KW, Baizer JS, Brozoski TJ (2013) Tinnitus, unipolar brush cells, and cerebellar glutamatergic function in an animal model. PLoS One 8:e64726
Becker EB, Oliver PL, Glitsch MD et al (2009) A point mutation in TRPC3 causes abnormal purkinje cell development and cerebellar ataxia in moonwalker mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106:6706–6711
Borges-Merjane C, Trussell LO (2015) ON and OFF unipolar brush cells transform multisensory inputs to the auditory system. Neuron 85(5):1029–1042
Diana MA, Otsu Y, Maton G et al (2007) T-type and L-type Ca2+ conductances define and encode the bimodal firing pattern of vestibulocerebellar unipolar brush cells. J Neurosci 27:3823–3838
Diño MR, Schuerger RJ, Liu Y, Slater NT, Mugnaini E (2000) Unipolar brush cell: a potential feedforward excitatory interneuron of the cerebellum. Neurosci 98:625–636
Diño MR, Perachio AA, Mugnaini E (2001) Cerebellar unipolar brush cells are targets of primary vestibular afferents: an experimental study in the gerbil. Exp Brain Res 140:162–170
Kim J-A, Sekerková G, Mugnaini E, Martina M (2012) Electrophysiological, morphological, and topological properties of two histochemically distinct subpopulations of cerebellar unipolar brush cells. Cerebellum 11:1012–1025
Mugnaini E, Sekerková G, Martina M (2011) The unipolar brush cell: a remarkable neuron finally receiving deserved attention. Brain Res Rev 66:220–245
Rossi DJ, Alford S, Mugnaini E, Slater NT (1995) Properties of transmission at a giant glutamatergic synapse in cerebellum: the mossy fiber-unipolar brush cell synapse. J Neurophysiol 74:24–42
Russo MJ, Mugnaini E, Martina M (2007) Intrinsic properties and mechanisms of spontaneous firing in mouse cerebellar unipolar brush cells. J Physiol 581:709–724
Russo MJ, Yau HJ, Nunzi MG, Mugnaini E, Martina M (2008) Dynamic metabotropic control of intrinsic firing in cerebellar unipolar brush cells. J Neurophysiol 100:3351–3360
Sekerková G, Ilijic E, Mugnaini E, Baker JF (2005) Otolith organ or semicircular canal stimulation induces c-fos expression in unipolar brush cells and granule cells of cat and squirrel monkey. Exp Brain Res 164:286–300
Sekerková G, Kim JA, Nigro MJ et al (2013) Early onset of ataxia in moonwalker mice is accompanied by complete ablation of type II unipolar brush cells and Purkinje cell dysfunction. J Neurosci 33:19689–19694
Sekerková G, Watanabe M, Martina M, Mugnaini E (2014) Differential distribution of phospholipase C beta isoforms and diaglycerol kinase-beta in rodents cerebella corroborates the division of unipolar brush cells into two major subtypes. Brain Struct Funct 219:719–749
van Dorp S, De Zeeuw CI (2014) Variable timing of synaptic transmission in cerebellar unipolar brush cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:5403–5408
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Martina, M., Sekerková, G. (2016). Unipolar Brush Cells. In: Gruol, D., Koibuchi, N., Manto, M., Molinari, M., Schmahmann, J., Shen, Y. (eds) Essentials of Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24551-5_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24551-5_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24549-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24551-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)