| Fastigial nucleus | |
|---|---|
 Cross-section of thecerebellum. Fastigial nucleus labeled at top-right. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nucleus fastigii |
| NeuroNames | 690 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1146 |
| TA98 | A14.1.07.411 |
| TA2 | 5840 |
| FMA | 72537 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Thefastigial nucleus (roof nucleus-1) is located in eachcerebellar hemisphere. It is one of the four paireddeep cerebellar nuclei of thecerebellum.
It is made up of two sections: the rostral fastigial nucleus and the caudal fastigial nucleus.
The fastigial nuclei is situated atop the roof of thefourth ventricle (thence its name: "fastigus" is Latin for "summit").[1]
The fastigial nucleus is a mass of gray matter nearest to the middle line at the anterior end of the superiorvermis, immediately over the roof of thefourth ventricle (the peak of which is called thefastigium), from which it is separated by a thin layer of white matter.[2]
It is smaller than thedentate nucleus, but somewhat larger than theemboliform nucleus andglobose nucleus.[citation needed]
The fastigial nucleus receives afferents from thevestibulocerebellar tract (containing first-order axons from thevestibular nerve as well as second-order axons from thevestibular nuclei), and fromPurkinje cells of thevestibulocerebellum cortex.[1]
The fastigial nucleus projects efferents to: the medial, lateral and inferiorvestibular nuclei,reticular formation,ventral lateral nucleus of thalamus, and cerebellar cortex. It gives rise to fastigiovestibular fibres, and fastigioreticular fibres: both leave the cerebellum via thejuxtarestiform body of theinferior cerebellar peduncle.[1]
Through the vestibulospinal and reticulospinal tracts, the fastigial efferents are involved in regulation of balance and posture as well as axial and proximal limb musculature activity.[1]
The rostral fastigial nucleus (rFN) is related to thevestibular system. It receives input from the vestibular nuclei and contributes to vestibular neuronal activity. The rFN interprets body motion and places it on spatial planes to estimate the movement of the body through space.[3] It deals with antigravity muscle groups and other synergies involved with standing and walking.[4]
The caudal fastigial nucleus (cFN) is related tosaccadic eye movements. The Purkinje cell output from the oculomotor vermis relays through the cFN, where neurons directly related to saccadic eye movements are located.[5]
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain from the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918)
