Circuit reorganization in cerebellar cultures after injury

Abstract

As elaborated in a recent review (Seil, 2014), we used an easily manipulable cerebellar culture system to study injury-induced reorganizational changes in a simplified central nervous system (CNS) model. The structural and functional interrelationships of the neurons of the rodent cerebellar cortex are well known (Eccles et al., 1967). There are five major neuronal types, including Purkinje, granule, basket, stellate and Golgi cells. Purkinje cells are inhibitory and are the only cortical neurons to project to other parts of the CNS, their axons terminating mainly in the underlying deep cerebellar nuclei. Purkinje cell axons also emit collaterals that project to other cortical neurons, including other Purkinje cells. Granule cells are the only excitatory cortical neurons and they project axons as bundles of parallel fibers to the dendrites of all other cortical neurons and form numerous synapses with Purkinje cell dendritic spines. The basket, stellate and Golgi cells are all inhibitory interneurons, their axons confined to the cortex. All of these neuronal types are represented in organotypic cerebellar cultures derived from newborn mice and allowed to develop in vitro (Seil, 1979).