Demonstration of a cuneate relay in a cortico-olivo-cerebellar pathway in the cat.

Stimulation of the forelimb area of the pericruciate cortex evokes climbing fibre responses in the contralateral anterior lobe of the cerebellum. Application of a local anaesthetic (lidocaine) to the surface of the cuneate nucleus reduced the responses to stimulation of the posterior sigmoid gyrus in the c1 and c3 zones but not in the c2 and d1 zones. Lidocaine produced an effect only when applied to the caudal half of the nucleus. Long-latency responses evoked from the anterior sigmoid gyrus in the c1, c2 and c3 zones were unaffected by lidocaine application.