Rate of degeneration of a neonatal ipsilateral olivocerebellar pathway revealed by unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy in the rat

This series of experiments tested the rate of degeneration of a recently demonstrated ipsilateral olivocerebellar pathway that followed unilateral cerebellar pedunculotomy in the neonatal rat. Animals aged either 3 or 10 days were anesthetized and subjected to a left cerebellar pedunculotomy; at the same time [ 3H]leucine was injected into the right inferior olive. The results indicated that there was climbing fiber labeling in the cerebellum, the extent of which depended on the age at which the experimental procedures were carried out.