The auditory corticopontocerebellar projection in the rat: inputs to the paraflocculus and midvermis. An anatomical and physiological study.

This study investigated afferent projections to the cerebellum, in particular those from the auditory cerebral cortex. The parafloccular lobule of the rat cerebellum is shown to be a primary target for the auditory cortical information with the midvermal region being a receiving area from the inferior colliculus. The method of anterograde transport of tritiated amino acids was employed to determine projections of the auditory cortex to the pons. Autoradiography showed that the site of termination of efferents from the auditory cortex corresponds to the location of neurons that project to the paraflocculus. Histogram analysis of neuronal activity in halothane anesthetized rats was employed to determine the response characteristics of neurons in paraflocculus and midvermis following cortical and tectal electrical stimulation. In addition, unit recordings of parafloccular neurons in immobilized, locally anesthetized animals demonstrated general characteristics of the responses of these neurons to auditory field stimulation. Electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex evoked mixed, excitatory-inhibitory and pure inhibitory mossy fiber responses in 33% of neurons in the paraflocculus, with no responses evident in the midvermis. Following inferior collicular stimulation, 12.6% of the neurons in the midvermis elicited a response. Recordings from parafloccular neurons in unanesthetized, immobilized rats showed evidence for excitatory and inhibitory mossy fiber responses, following auditory field stimulation. This spectrum of basic studies establishes the existence of a pathway in which the paraflocculus is revealed as an integrating target for cortical auditory information.