The indirect corticopontine pathway relays perioral sensory signals to the cerebellum via the mesodiencephalic junction

In the cerebro–cerebellar loop, outputs from the cerebral cortex are thought to be transmitted via monosynaptic corticopontine gray (PG) pathways and subsequently relayed to the cerebellum. However, it is unclear whether this pathway is used constitutively for cerebro–cerebellar transduction. We examined perioral sensory pathways by unit recording from Purkinje cells in ketamine/xylazine-anesthetized mice. Infraorbital nerve stimulations enhanced simple spikes (SSs) with short and long latencies (first and second peaks), followed by SS inhibition. The second peak and SS inhibition were suppressed by muscimol (a GABA(A) agonist) injections into not only the PG but also the mesodiencephalic junction (MDJ). The pathway from the secondary somatosensory area (SII) to the MDJ, but not the cortico–PG pathway, transmitted the second peak signals. SS inhibition was processed in the SII and primary motor area. Thus, the indirect cortico–PG pathway, via the MDJ, is recruited for perioral sensory transduction.