Prof. Catherine Carr, Biology Department, University of Maryland
In this project we are using injections of retrograde tracers in the cerebellum of American alligators ((Alligator mississippiensis) to trace pre cerebellar pathways. Mammalls and birds have nuclei and the base of the pons that recive projections from the forebrain and project to the cerebellum. aditionaly, birds have a pretectal nuceli, SpM that also recives projections from the forebrian andproject to the cerebellum, and which is not found in mammals. curently it is unknown if reptiles, including cocrodrilian,s the closest living relatives to brids, have pontine nuclei or something similar to spm.
