Welker W I
Department of Neurophysiology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison 53706.
Arch Ital Biol. 1990 Jul;128(2-4):87-109.
I propose the general hypothesis that each individual folium in the cerebellum is an integrative module that is involved in unique sets of sensorimotor transactions. Although the basic types of operations carried out by cerebellar cortex may be similar in all folia, the mosaic of afferent sources, intrinsic organization and efferent destinations appear to be unique for each folium. I believe that this conception is supported by: 1) comparative data which illustrate species-typical folial patterns, 2) neuroanatomical data which reveal not only different structural features of folial crowns and fundi, but differential afferent and efferent connectivity of different folia as well, 3) physiological data, which demonstrate unique patterns of afferent activity in different folia, and especially by 4) ontogenetic data which establish that each folial crown expands and differentiates into an architecturally distinct cortical entity. Taken together, all these lines of evidence suggest that the numbers and patterns of folia exhibited by the cerebellar cortex of different mammals are morphological indicators of differential organization of sensorimotor control functions in each animal. Even intraspecific individual variations in folial number, size and pattern may signify structural-functional determinants of some individual differences in sensorimotor transactions. Since so little research has addressed the many testable ideas embodied in these general hypotheses, it seems to me that neuroscientists have a long way to go to clarify how the many different folia and lobules of cerebellar cortex actually function in the common, everyday, orderly, dynamic and ongoing reflex, postural, learned and deliberate behavioral sequences that characterize the normal behavioral repertoires of different animals. The enormous advances in understanding brought forth by the extensive research and writings of Professor Brodal and his colleagues have expanded our horizons to avail us of an enormous range of new vistas into cerebellar functional morphology. It is now the task of neurobiologists to explore these diverse new domains in ever greater depth and detail.
我提出一个总体假设，即小脑的每个小叶都是一个整合模块，参与独特的感觉运动活动组合。虽然小脑皮质执行的基本操作类型在所有小叶中可能相似，但传入源、内在组织和传出目的地的组合似乎对每个小叶来说都是独特的。我认为这一概念得到了以下几方面的支持：1）说明物种典型小叶模式的比较数据；2）神经解剖学数据，这些数据不仅揭示了小叶冠和小叶底的不同结构特征，还揭示了不同小叶传入和传出连接的差异；3）生理学数据，这些数据证明了不同小叶中传入活动的独特模式，尤其是4）个体发育数据，这些数据表明每个小叶冠扩展并分化为一个在结构上不同的皮质实体。综合来看，所有这些证据表明，不同哺乳动物小脑皮质所呈现的小叶数量和模式是每种动物感觉运动控制功能差异组织的形态学指标。即使是种内小叶数量、大小和模式的个体差异，也可能意味着感觉运动活动中某些个体差异的结构功能决定因素。由于针对这些一般假设中所包含的许多可检验观点的研究很少，在我看来，神经科学家要弄清楚小脑皮质的许多不同小叶和小叶在不同动物正常行为库所特有的常见、日常、有序、动态和持续的反射、姿势、学习和刻意行为序列中究竟如何发挥作用，还有很长的路要走。布罗达尔教授及其同事的广泛研究和著作带来了对相关理解的巨大进步，拓宽了我们的视野，使我们能够看到关于小脑功能形态学的大量新前景。现在，神经生物学家的任务是更深入、更详细地探索这些不同的新领域。
