Oscillation in the inferior olive neurons: Functional implication

Abstract

The inferior olives represent one of the omnipresent bulbar nuclei in vertebrates. Their axonal projection to cerebellar nuclei, and its powerful synaptic input to Purkinje cells, (the so-called climbing fi bers), serve as a powerful excitatory input deeply related to the timing of motor execution. Inferior olive neuronal activity is synchronized by intrinsic membrane oscillatory activity, via voltage dependant calcium channel activation, and their interconnectivity via neuronal electrical coupling.