Physiology 3120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Lateral Vestibular Nucleus, Stretch Reflex, Fastigial Nucleus

• School: Western University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: Physiology 3120
• Professor: Tom Stavraky

Document Summary

Cerebellum means little brain" in latin b/c the cerebellum has its own cortex (cerebellar cortex) and deep nuclei = cerebral hemispheres have cerebral cortex and number of cell groupings e. g. basal ganglia and thalamus. The cerebellum is 10% of volume of the whole brain but contains more than half the neurons in the brain b/c there"re a lot of granule cells. Some clues as to what the function of the cerebellum is come from various techniques of studying brain structure. Lesion can occur due to: strokes: there are 2 arteries going into cerebellum that can have strokes and damage parts of the cerebellum, tumor >> neurosurgery: a certain type of tumor often develop in teenagers. Surgeons operate to try to kill off those cells but they kill off some normal cells too: degenerative lesions. The dysfunctions that occur with lesions might be a clue as to the function of the cerebellum.