Mesodiencephalic and cerebellar terminals terminate upon the same dendritic spines in the glomeruli of the cat and rat inferior olive: an ultrastructural study using a combination of [3H]leucine and wheat germ agglutinin coupled horseradish peroxidase anterograde tracing.

The mesodiencephalic and cerebellar afferents in the rostral medial accessory and principal olive of the cat and rat were studied following anterograde transport of tritiated leucine combined with anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin coupled horseradish peroxidase in the same animals. In all studied areas at least one-third of the labelled glomeruli appeared to contain both mesodiencephalic and cerebellar terminals. In many of these cases it was found that the terminals from both afferent systems contacted the same dendritic spines. Therefore, these olivary spines may be, as will be discussed, well suited for being involved in a timing process.