Cerebellar interpositus nucleus modulates neuronal activity of lateral hypothalamic area

Abstract

Effects of stimulating the cerebellar interpositus nucleus (IN) on the neuronal activity of lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) were first observed in the cat. The results showed that (1) IN stimulation could elicit inhibitory, excitatory, inhibitory-excitatory and excitatory-inhibitory responses from LHA neurones, with a majority of inhibitory responses (46.9%); (2) the responsive latencies of LHA neurones to IN stimulation ranged from 5 to 45 ms, while most (83.6%) showed a short latency of < 15 ms; (3) of 67 LHA neurones which responded to the IN stimulation, 42 (62.7%) cells were identified to be glucose-sensitive neurones. These results suggest that IN may be involved in the role of LHA modulating food intake behaviour, as well as other non-somatic functions.