Secondary vestibular cholinergic projection to the cerebellum of rabbit and rat as revealed by choline acetyltransferase immunohistochemistry, retrograde and orthograde tracers

Previously we have shown that four regions of the cerebellum, the uvula‐nodulus, flocculus, ventral paraflocculus, and anterior lobe 1, receive extensive, but not exclusive, cholinergic mossy fiber projections. In the present experiment we have studied the origin of three of these projections in the rat and rabbit (uvula‐nodulus, flocculus, ventral paraflocculus), using choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunohistochemistry in combination with a double label, retrogradely transported horseradish peroxidase (HRP). We have demonstrated that in both the rat and rabbit the caudal medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) and to a lesser extent the nucleus prepositus hypoglossus (NPH) contain ChAT‐positive neurons. Neurons of the caudal MVN are double‐labeled following HRP injections into the uvula‐nodulus. HRP injections into the uvula‐nodulus also labeled less than 5% of the neurons in the cholinergic vestibular efferent complex. Fewer ChAT‐positive neurons in the MVN and some ChAT‐positive neurons in the NPH are double‐labeled following HRP injections into the flocculus. Almost no ChAT‐positive neurons in the MVN and some ChAT‐positive neurons in the NPH are double‐labeled following HRP injections into the ventral paraflocculus. Injections of Phaseolus leucoagglutinin (PHA‐L) into the caudal MVN of both the rat and rabbit demonstrated projection patterns to the uvula‐nodulus and flocculus that were qualitatively similar to those observed using ChAT immunohistochemistry. We conclude that the cholinergic mossy fiber pathway to the cerebellum in general and the uvula‐nodulus in particular is likely to mediate secondary vestibular information related to postural adjustments.