Granule cell raphes in the cerebellar cortex of chicken and mouse.

The cerebellar cortex of the chicken embryo contains parasagittal segments of Purkinje cells. At intermediate stages of development, cell-dense ribbons of migrating granule cells ("raphes") are found between the segments. The complementary pattern of granule cell raphes and Purkinje cell segments represents a basic scheme of cerebellar organization that coincides with the expression domains of various genes, such as cadherins, gene regulatory proteins, and ephrins and their receptors.

Granule cell raphes in the developing mouse cerebellum.

The cerebellar cortex of many vertebrates shows a striking parasagittal compartmentation that is thought to play a role in the establishment and maintenance of functional cerebellar connectivity. Here, we demonstrate the existence of multiple parasagittal raphes of cells in the molecular layer of the developing cerebellar cortex of postnatal mouse. The histological appearance and immunostaining profile of the raphe cells suggest that they are migrating granule cells.