Feedback control of Purkinje cell activity by the cerebello-olivary pathway.
The pathway from the deep cerebellar nuclei to the inferior olive, the source of the climbing fibre input to the cerebellum, inhibits olivary transmission. As climbing fibre activity can depress the background firing of the Purkinje cells, it was suggested that nucleo-olivary (N–O) inhibition is a negative feedback mechanism for regulating Purkinje cell excitability. This suggestion was investigat