Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

2013 Edition
| Editors: Fred R. Volkmar

Purkinje Cells

Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_579
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Definition

Purkinje cells are large neuronal nerve cells that occupy the middle layer of the cerebellar cortex (also known as the Purkinje layer). These cells were discovered in 1837 by Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkinje who identified and described them. Structurally, Purkinje cells are characterized by a long axon and numerous and intricate dendritic spines branching from the cell soma. Purkinje cells regulate coordinated motor activity by releasing the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) projecting to deeper cerebellar nuclei and exerting inhibitory influences upon the receiving cells. Purkinje cells have a large deal of control over the refinement of motor activities as they have an essential part in the cerebellum’s role in receiving information from the cerebrum and planning coordinated activity in response. Damage to Purkinje cells can result in certain neurological diseases. The loss of Purkinje cells has been observed in children with autism.

References and Readings

  1. Arin, D. M., Bauman, M. L., & Kemper, T. L. (1991). The distribution of Purkinje cell loss in the cerebellum in autism. Neurology, 41(Suppl. 1), 307.Google Scholar
  2. Bailey, A., Luthert, P., Dean, A., Harding, B., Janota, I., Montgomery, M., et al. (1998). A clinicopathological study of autism. Brain, 121, 889–905.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Bauman, M. L., & Kemper, T. L. (1994). Neuroanatomic observations of the brain in autism. In M. L. Bauman & T. L. Kemper (Eds.), The neurobiology of autism (pp. 119–145). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
  4. Bauman, M. L., & Kemper, T. L. (2005). Neuroanatomic observations of the brain in autism: A review and future directions. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23(2–3), 183–187.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Ritvo, E. R., Freeman, B. J., Scheibel, A. B., Duong, T., Robinson, H., Guthrie, D., et al. (1986). Lower Purkinje cell counts in the cerebella of four autistic subjects: Initial findings of the UCLA-NSAC autopsy research report. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 862–866.PubMedGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Child Study CenterYale UniversityNew HavenUSA