Point 16 Intro Pathway Deficit Note Overview Problems Contents Anatomy

You will hear more about this pathway in the lectures on the cerebellum. Right now, remember, for the cerebral cortex to inform the cerebellum about a movement, two neurons are needed. The first lies in the cortex; its axon (corticopontine) enters the internal capsule (along with corticospinal and corticobulbar axons), passes into the cerebral peduncle at midbrain levels, and enters the basilar pons where it terminates upon pontine nuclei. Pontine neurons possess axons (pontocerebellar) that cross in the basilar pons and project to the contralateral cerebellar cortex via the middle cerebellar peduncle. The pontocerebellar projection is the primary constituent of the middle cerebellar peduncle, which is also called the brachium pontis. Oh, by the way, do pontocerebellars end as mossy or climbing fibers? (remember there is one source of climbing fibers).