The deep cerebellar nuclei are four pairs of grey-matter clusters buried in the white matter at the core of the cerebellum. From the midline outwards they are the fastigial, the globose and the emboliform (together called the interposed nucleus) and the dentate, the largest. Apart from the nearby vestibular nuclei, they are the cerebellum’s only source of output. [1][2]
The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the deep cerebellar nuclei are and what they do.
Opens cut by a front (coronal) slice through the cerebellum, which holds the deep cerebellar nuclei. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .
Not a separate shape in this atlas; lit: the part that holds it. Lit: the whole cerebellum. All four pairs lie deep inside the cerebellum, in its central white matter just above the roof of the fourth ventricle: the fastigial nearest the midline, the dentate furthest out in each hemisphere. None of them has a shape of its own in the BodyParts3D model, so nothing is drawn at a guessed point. [1][3][4]
Lit here: the cerebellum, the part that holds the deep cerebellar nuclei — see it on its own page.
In order from the midline outwards: the fastigial nucleus, the globose nucleus, the emboliform nucleus and the dentate nucleus. The globose and emboliform together are called the interposed nucleus, because they sit between the other two. [1][2][4]
Fastigial nucleus: the one nearest the midline, at the front end of the superior vermis, directly over the roof of the fourth ventricle; its name comes from the fastigium, the peak of that roof. [3]
Interposed nucleus: in the roof of the fourth ventricle, just outside (lateral to) the fastigial nucleus. Of its two parts the globose nucleus lies nearer the midline and the wedge-shaped emboliform nucleus further out, close to the opening (hilum) of the dentate nucleus. [4][5][6]
Dentate nucleus: the outermost and by far the largest, a folded, tooth-edged band of grey matter in the white matter of each cerebellar hemisphere. [2][1]
What it does
Apart from the nearby vestibular nuclei, the deep nuclei are the cerebellum’s only output. The Purkinje cells, the sole output of the cerebellar cortex, end on them and inhibit them; the deep nuclei then send the signal on out of the cerebellum. [1][7]
Each nucleus serves its own strip of the cerebellum: the fastigial the vermis on the midline, the interposed the strip beside it (both part of the spinocerebellum, which tunes body and limb movement), and the dentate the large outer hemispheres (the cerebrocerebellum, which helps plan movement). [1]
The fastigial nucleus sends its output to the vestibular nuclei and the reticular formation of the brainstem, the centres for balance, posture and eye movements. [3][1]
The dentate nucleus sends its output through the superior cerebellar peduncle and the thalamus to the motor and premotor cortex, and from its lower part to the prefrontal and parietal cortex. [2]
Other names
Also simply the cerebellar nuclei. The interposed nucleus is the nucleus interpositus in Latin; globose means globe-shaped, emboliform plug-shaped, and dentate tooth-like. [1][4][5]
Size
The model has no shape for the deep cerebellar nuclei itself, so it is not measured here. The cerebellum that holds it measures about 56 mm front to back, 53 mm top to bottom and 106 mm side to side on this model (the box it fits in, not its volume). [8]
Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); real brains vary in size and shape, so its measurements describe one model, not anyone’s brain.