Kalinichenko S G, Okhotin V E
Department of Histology, Vladivostok State Medical University, Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Developmental Genetics, Institute of Gene Biology, RAS, Moscow.
Morfologiia. 2003;124(6):7-21.
This review summarizes the literature data and the results of the authors' own investigations on morphology, neurochemical specialization, and spatial organization of unipolar brush neurons (UBN) in the cerebellar cortex and brainstem cochlear nuclei. UBN represent excitatory interneurons with a single dendrite that forms a compact brush-like branching in its terminal part. They are distributed non-uniformly in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex and are localized predominantly in its vestibular areas. UBN synthesize glutamate, calretinin, contain metabo- and ionotropic glutamate receptors. Dendritic brush of UBN forms the giant synapses with the rosettes of glutamate- and cholinergic afferent mossy fibers. Axons of UBN form intracortical system of mossy fibers, which, by forming rosettes and glomeruli, make contacts with dendrites of similar cells and those of the granular cells. In the chain of inerneuronal communications, UBN may be regarded as the intermediate link, which amplifies the excitatory effect of the afferent mossy fibers upon granular cells of the cerebellar cortex and brainstem cochlear nuclei.
本综述总结了文献数据以及作者自身关于小脑皮质和脑干蜗神经核中单极刷状神经元（UBN）的形态学、神经化学特化和空间组织的研究结果。UBN代表兴奋性中间神经元，具有单个树突，其在末端部分形成紧密的刷状分支。它们在小脑皮质颗粒层中分布不均，主要位于其前庭区域。UBN合成谷氨酸、钙视网膜蛋白，含有代谢型和离子型谷氨酸受体。UBN的树突刷与谷氨酸能和胆碱能传入苔藓纤维的玫瑰花结形成巨大突触。UBN的轴突形成苔藓纤维的皮质内系统，该系统通过形成玫瑰花结和肾小球，与相似细胞以及颗粒细胞的树突建立联系。在中间神经元通讯链中，UBN可被视为中间环节，它放大了传入苔藓纤维对小脑皮质和脑干蜗神经核颗粒细胞的兴奋作用。
