Abstract
The cerebellar nuclei are involved in several brain functions, including the modulation of motor and cognitive performance. To differentiate their participation in these functions, and to analyze their changes in neurodegenerative and other diseases as revealed by neuroimaging, stereotaxic maps are necessary. These maps reflect the complex spatial structure of cerebellar nuclei with adequate spatial resolution and detail. Here we report on the cytoarchitecture of the dentate, interposed (emboliform and globose) and fastigial nuclei, and introduce 3D probability maps in stereotaxic MNI-Colin27 space as a prerequisite for subsequent meta-analysis of their functional involvement. Histological sections of 10 human post mortem brains were therefore examined. Differences in cell density were measured and used to distinguish a dorsal from a ventral part of the dentate nucleus. Probabilistic maps were calculated, which indicate the position and extent of the nuclei in 3D-space, while considering their intersubject variability. The maps of the interposed and the dentate nuclei differed with respect to their interaction patterns and functions based on meta-analytic connectivity modeling and quantitative functional decoding, respectively. For the dentate nucleus, significant (p < 0.05) co-activations were observed with thalamus, supplementary motor area (SMA), putamen, BA 44 of Broca’s region, areas of superior and inferior parietal cortex, and the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). In contrast, the interposed nucleus showed more limited co-activations with SMA, area 44, putamen, and SFG. Thus, the new stereotaxic maps contribute to analyze structure and function of the cerebellum. These maps can be used for anatomically reliable and precise identification of degenerative alteration in MRI-data of patients who suffer from various cerebellar diseases.
Highlights
The cerebellar nuclei show a complex morphology and their full extent is partly invisible in routine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Based on local differences in cell density and size, the dentate nucleus could be microscopically subdivided in a dorsal and ventral part by a clear-cut border, whereby the dorsal part had a significantly higher cell density than the ventral one
Small differences between both estimates may be caused by partial volume effects, which are more relevant in lower resolution MR images
Summary
The cerebellar nuclei show a complex morphology and their full extent is partly invisible in routine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Neurodegeneration, targeting within the cerebellum especially the dentate nucleus, occurs, e.g., in an autosomal dominant inherited disorder, called Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3; Rub et al, 2008, 2013; Scherzed et al, 2012). These neuropathologically observed changes of the dentate nuclei in SCA3 have yet not been demonstrated by imaging techniques in vivo, most probably due to the spatial resolution
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