The Cerebellar Dentate Nucleus

Abstract

In order to understand the morphology of the dentate nucleus we need to place it in the context of the white matter core of the cerebellum in which the nucleus is embedded. The corpus medullare or white matter core of the cerebellum is a compact mass of myelinated axons covered by the cerebellar cortex. It consists of (1) the afferent projection fibers from the vestibular, spinocerebellar, pontine, olivary, raphe, and reticular pathways to the cerebellar cortex; (2) the fibers from cerebellar cortex to the cerebellar nuclei; (3) efferent projection fibers from the nuclei to elsewhere in the brain; (4) to a lesser extent, the association fibers, connecting the various parts of the cerebellum; and (5) commissural fibers, which cross from one side to the other. These are concentrated in two cerebellar commissures, a posterior one in the region of the fastigial nuclei, and an anterior one rostral to the dentate nuclei.