The ventral uvula of the mouse cerebellum: a neural target of ethanol and vestibular stimuli.

The present study demonstrates that mice exposed to vertical translation stimulation exhibit a distinct parasagittal pattern of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-IR) granule cells in the ventral uvula of the cerebellum. This pattern is identical to one produced by acute ethanol treatment. In contrast, yaw stimulation produces an entirely different pattern in this same region of the cerebellum. Similar results are obtained in the light or in total darkness. These results suggest an anatomical and functional organization within the granule cells of the ventral uvula that may be a common neural substrate for some effects of ethanol and particular vestibular stimuli.