Simple spike activity of Purkinje cells in the posterior vermis of awake cats during spontaneous saccadic eye movements

Extracellular recordings were made from 151 cerebellar cortical cells in the posterior vermis of 12 awake cats. Thirty-two percent (n=48) of these cells modulated their activity with respect to the onset of spontaneous saccadic eye movements. Thirty-five cells in this group were positively identified as Purkinje cells and manifested changes in simple spike activity that were related to saccade onset. These included short excitatory, inhibitory, or biphasic changes that were superimposed on background tonic firing rates (avg.=54 spikes/sec). Such changes were recorded before as well as after the onset of a saccade. Sixty-five percent (n=22) of these cells were related to horizontal and vertical saccades in more than one direction of motion. These cells were randomly distributed throughout the posterior vermis and manifested no anatomical topographic organization with respect to the direction of saccadic eye movement. The results of this study suggest that lobules VI and VII of the cerebellar vermis participate in both the initiation and execution of spontaneous saccades in preferred directions.