Brain Structure and Function· 2026Q1
Thalamic projections from the cerebellar nuclei receiving proprioceptive signals from the jaw muscles in rats
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Rats' jaw muscle proprioceptive signals project from cerebellar nuclei (jcms-IntDL, jcms-MedDL) to distinct thalamic regions, with jcms-IntDL targeting VL, VM, ventral anterior, PC, and OPC, and jcms-MedDL targeting parafascicular, centrolateral, VL, VM, and PC nuclei.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Jaw muscle proprioceptive signals from jcms-IntDL project to rat thalamic nuclei including VL, VM, ventral anterior, PC, and OPC.
- Jaw muscle proprioceptive signals from jcms-MedDL project to rat thalamic nuclei including parafascicular, centrolateral, VL, VM, and PC.
- Projections from jcms-MedDL to the thalamus are generally stronger than those from jcms-IntDL.
- Axonal boutons from jcms-IntDL are larger than those from jcms-MedDL in the OPC and VM thalamic nuclei.
- Both cerebellothalamic and lemniscal pathways converge on the OPC, potentially carrying similar proprioceptive information.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The neural mechanisms involved in transmission of proprioceptive information from muscles are not fully understood. Proprioceptive signals from jaw-closing muscle spindles (jcms) are relayed to the supratrigeminal nucleus (Su5), and, then, from the Su5 to the thalamus including the oval paracentral nucleus (OPC) via the trigeminal lemniscal pathway and to the jcms-IntDL and jcms-MedDL (the dorsolateral hump of interposed cerebellar nucleus [IntDL] and the dorsolateral protuberance of medial cerebellar nucleus [MedDL], which were electrophysiologically identified to receive jcms-proprioception). In this study, we investigated the cerebellothalamic projections from the jcms-IntDL and jcms-MedDL in rats by injecting an anterograde tracer into these two subnuclei. The thalamic projection sites from the jcms-IntDL and jcms-MedDL appeared bilaterally with a contralateral predominance and broadly overlapped, but with considerable differences. Namely, the jcms-IntDL principally projected to the ventrolateral (VL), ventromedial (VM), ventral anterior, paracentral (PC) thalamic nuclei, and OPC, whereas the jcms-MedDL mainly targeted the parafascicular and centrolateral thalamic nuclei as well as the VL, VM, and PC. Overall, these thalamic projections from the jcms-MedDL appeared stronger than those from the jcms-IntDL. In the OPC and VM, the size of axonal boutons from the jcms-IntDL was larger than that from the jcms-MedDL. We also investigated the cerebellar nucleus neurons projecting to the OPC by using retrograde tracer injections into the OPC, and confirmed that the cerebellothalamic and lemniscal pathways, which possibly transport the same proprioceptive information, converge on the OPC. Our findings demonstrate characteristics of thalamic projections from the cerebellar nuclei conveying muscle proprioceptive information.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Brain Structure and Function, 2026 · DOI ↗
The rest is in the Pofolia app
Takeaways and questions to the paper; new summaries every day for your field. Free.
Sign in on the web to openField: Neurology (Neuroscience)
NeurologyNeuroscience