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The cerebellar cortex is highly compartmentalized and serves as a remarkable model for pattern formation throughout the brain. In brief, the adult cerebellar cortex is subdivided into five anteroposterior units—transverse zones—and subsequently, each zone is divided into ∼20 parasagittal stripes. Zone-and-stripe pattern formation involves the interplay of two parallel developmental pathways—one for inhibitory neurons, the second for excitatory. In the inhibitory pathway, progenitor cells of the 4th ventricle generate the Purkinje cells and inhibitory interneurons. In the excitatory pathway, progenitor cells in the upper rhombic lip give rise to the external granular layer, and subsequently to the granular layer of the adult. Both the excitatory and inhibitory developmental pathways are spatially patterned and the interactions of the two generate the complex topography of the adult. This review briefly describes the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underly zone-and-stripe development with a particular focus on mutations known to interfere with normal cerebellar development and the light they cast on the mechanisms of pattern formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cerebellar cortex is highly compartmentalized and serves as a remarkable model for pattern formation throughout the brain. In brief, the adult cerebellar cortex is subdivided into five anteroposterior units—transverse zones—and subsequently, each zone is divided into ∼20 parasagittal stripes. Zone-and-stripe pattern formation involves the interplay of two parallel developmental pathways—one for inhibitory neurons, the second for excitatory. In the inhibitory pathway, progenitor cells of the 4th ventricle generate the Purkinje cells and inhibitory interneurons. In the excitatory pathway, progenitor cells in the upper rhombic lip give rise to the external granular layer, and subsequently to the granular layer of the adult. Both the excitatory and inhibitory developmental pathways are spatially patterned and the interactions of the two generate the complex topography of the adult. This review briefly describes the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underly zone-and-stripe development with a particular focus on mutations known to interfere with normal cerebellar development and the light they cast on the mechanisms of pattern formation.

The continental collision process has made a large contribution to continental growth and reconfiguration of cratons throughout Earth history. Many of the mountain belts present today are the product of continental collision such as the Appalachians, the Alps, the Cordillera, the Himalaya, the Zagros, and the Papuan Fold and Thrust Belt. Though collisional mountain belts are generally elongate and laterally continuous, close inspection reveals disruptions and variations in thrust geometry and kinematics along the strike of the range. These lateral variations typically coincide with cross structures and have been documented in thrust fault systems with a variety of geometries and kinematic interpretations. In the Himalaya, cross faults provide segment boundaries that, in some cases separate zones of differing thrust geometry and may even localize microseismicity or limit areas of active seismicity on adjacent thrust systems. By compiling data on structural segmentation along the length of the Himalayan range, we find lateral variations at all levels within the Himalaya. Along the Gish fault of the eastern Indian Himalaya, there is evidence in the foreland for changes in thrust-belt geometry across the fault. The Gish, the Ganga, and the Yamuna faults all mark boundaries of salients and recesses at the mountain front. The Benkar fault in the Greater Himalayan sequence of eastern Nepal exhibits a brittle-ductile style of deformation with fabric that crosscuts the older thrust-sense foliation. Microseismicity data from several regions in Nepal shows linear, northeast-striking clusters of epicenters sub-parallel to cross faults. The map pattern of aftershock data from the 2015 Nepal earthquakes has an abrupt northeast-trending termination on its eastern side suggesting the presence of a structure of that orientation that limited slip. The orientations of the recognized cross faults and seismic patterns also align with the extensional zones to the north on the Tibetan Plateau and the Indian basement structures to the south. Results from multiple studies are consistent with a link between cross faults and either of these structural trends to the north or south and suggest that cross faults may play a role in segmenting deformation style and seismic activity along the length of the Himalaya.

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The map expression of “abrupt” changes in lateral stratigraphic level of a thrust fault has been traditionally interpreted to be a result of the presence of (1) a lateral (or oblique) thrust-ramp, or (2) a frontal ramp with displacement gradient, and/or (3) a combination of these geometries. These geometries have been used to interpret the structures near transverse zones in fold-thrust belts (FTB). This contribution outlines an alternative explanation that can result in the same map pattern by lateral variations in stratigraphy along the strike of a low angle thrust fault. We describe the natural example of the Leamington transverse zone, which marks the southern margin of the Pennsylvanian–Permian Oquirrh basin with genetically related lateral stratigraphic variations in the North American Sevier FTB. Thus, the observed map pattern at this zone is closely related to lateral stratigraphic variations along the strike of a horizontal fault. Even though the present-day erosional level shows the map pattern that could be interpreted as a lateral ramp, the observed structures along the Leamington zone most likely share the effects of the presence of a lateral (or oblique) ramp, lateral stratigraphic variations along the fault trace, and the displacement gradient.

Abstract: This study investigates the tectonic evolution of the Omalos transverse zone, which served as a crustal-scale oblique ramp in the External Hellenides thrust belt on Crete island. The Omalos oblique ramp developed above an inherited Mesozoic fault zone that strikes NE–SW, oblique to the regional SSW-directed tectonic transport. During the Early Miocene–Pleistocene evolution of the thrust belt, the oblique ramp was repeatedly reactivated localizing deformation above the inherited structure. Geological and structural mapping combined with kinematic analysis of ductile and brittle structures suggest that the Omalos oblique ramp generated a local kinematic field, which deviated significantly from the regional kinematic pattern in the thrust belt. The most conspicuous feature in the tectonic evolution of the oblique ramp is a change from a ductile wrench-dominated to a brittle, primarily reverse faulting regime across the brittle–ductile transition, followed by brittle wrench deformation after the final exhumation of high-pressure (HP) rocks. Deflections of transport and compression orientations from the regional pattern are attributed to buttressing against basement-cover offsets produced by the pre-existing fault zone, to oblique ramping, and to transfer faulting, respectively. Our findings are potentially applicable to other examples of crustal-scale oblique thrust ramps in various tectonic settings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The map expression of “abrupt” changes in lateral stratigraphic level of a thrust fault has been traditionally interpreted to be a result of the presence of (1) a lateral (or oblique) thrust-ramp, or (2) a frontal ramp with displacement gradient, and/or (3) a combination of these geometries. These geometries have been used to interpret the structures near transverse zones in fold-thrust belts (FTB). This contribution outlines an alternative explanation that can result in the same map pattern by lateral variations in stratigraphy along the strike of a low angle thrust fault. We describe the natural example of the Leamington transverse zone, which marks the southern margin of the Pennsylvanian–Permian Oquirrh basin with genetically related lateral stratigraphic variations in the North American Sevier FTB. Thus, the observed map pattern at this zone is closely related to lateral stratigraphic variations along the strike of a horizontal fault. Even though the present-day erosional level shows the map pattern that could be interpreted as a lateral ramp, the observed structures along the Leamington zone most likely share the effects of the presence of a lateral (or oblique) ramp, lateral stratigraphic variations along the fault trace, and the displacement gradient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite the general uniformity in cellular composition of the adult cerebellum (Cb), the expression of proteins such as ZebrinII/AldolaseC and the small heat shock protein HSP25 reveal striking patterns of parasagittal Purkinje cell (PC) stripes. Based on differences in the stripe configuration within subsets of lobules, the Cb can be further divided into four anterior-posterior transverse zones: anterior zone (AZ) = lobules I-V, central zone (CZ) = lobules VI-VII, posterior zone (PZ) = lobules VIII and anterior IX, and the nodular zone (NZ) = lobules posterior IX-X. Here we used whole-mount and tissue section immunohistochemistry to show that neurofilament heavy chain (NFH) expression alone divides all lobules of the mouse Cb into a complex series of parasagittal stripes of PCs. We revealed that the striped pattern of NFH in the vermis of the AZ and PZ was complementary to ZebrinII and phospholipase C ß3 (PLCß3), and corresponded to phospholipase C ß4 (PLCß4). In the CZ and NZ the stripe pattern of NFH was complementary to HSP25 and corresponded to PLCß3. The boundaries of the NFH stripes were not always sharply delineated. Instead, a gradual decrease in NFH expression was observed toward the edges of particular stripes, resulting in domains comprised of overlapping expression patterns. Furthermore, the terminal field distributions of mossy and climbing fibers had a complex but consistent topographical alignment with NFH stripes. In summary, NFH expression reveals an exquisite level of Cb stripe complexity that respects the transverse zone divisions and delineates an intricately patterned target field for Cb afferents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the Appalachian thrust belt in Alabama, thrust sheets of Paleozoic strata generally strike northeastward and are imbricated northwestward; four transverse zones cross the regional strike of the thrust belt. The large-scale Pell City thrust sheet ends southwestward at an oblique lateral ramp within the Harpersville transverse zone, where the leading edge of the thrust sheet (the Pell City fault) curves abruptly ∼55° counterclockwise. The northwest-striking segment of the Pell City fault conforms to the geometry of an oblique lateral ramp in the footwall. Furthermore, the Pell City fault cuts up section in the hanging wall southwestward toward the transverse zone, indicating a hanging-wall lateral ramp emplaced over the footwall oblique lateral ramp. In the hanging wall adjacent to the northwest-trending segment of the Pell City fault, a pervasive train of upright, isoclinal folds (with ∼50% apparent shortening) trends ∼N15°W, oblique to the regional translation direction. The fold train is limited to the southwestern part of the Pell City thrust sheet; farther northeast, the regional northeasterly strike prevails. The isoclinal folds in the hanging wall indicate contractional crowding perpendicular to the footwall oblique lateral ramp. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most orogenic belts exhibit broadly arcuate regional map-view trends of structural patterns. Commonly, the inflection between opposing curves (recesses and salients) is a transverse zone marking a linear array of along-strike contrasts in regional structure and stratigraphy. Analysis of such transverse zones can provide insight into the processes affecting orogenic curvature. Curvature is especially distinctive along the west flank of the Appalachians, where the tightest salient/recess juncture is a thinned-skinned transverse zone in Georgia, separating the Alabama recess and Tennessee salient, and extending entirely across the width of deformed Laurentian cover rocks. This zone's most notable feature is a large oblique hanging-wall ramp within the frontal metamorphic allochthon formed during Alleghanian collisional events. The basal décollement steps several kilometers stratigraphically upward across this ramp from Proterozoic basement and its overlying Late Proterozoic rift sequence (Tennessee salient), southwestward into basal Cambrian and younger rocks (Alabama recess). This ramp resulted from oblique sinistral displacement of the allochthon against an earlier, east-facing, dextral continental margin transform fault that initially separated adjacent rifted margins of opposite polarity. Differences in the distribution, thickness, and facies of units indicate that important variations in basin geometry existed across the curvature inflection before Paleozoic deformation, suggesting that the orogenic curvature in part results from an inherited basin architecture. Translation of the allochthon over the ramp caused deflection of the tectonic transport trajectory, major cross folding, and rotation of earlier structures. Associated out-of-plane deformation propagated outward across the foreland, producing the array of thinned-skinned transverse structures aligned into the transverse zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the apparent uniformity in cellular composition of the adult cerebellar cortex, functional, anatomical, mutational and molecular maps all reveal a complex topography underlying the relatively simple architecture. In particular, zebrin II, a polypeptide antigen identified as aldolase C, is restricted to a subset of Purkinje cells that form a symmetrical and reproducible array of zones and stripes. The vermis of the well-studied rodent cerebellar cortex is divided into four transverse zones – anterior (∼lobules I–V), central (∼lobules VI and VII), posterior (∼lobule VIII) and nodular (∼lobules IX and X). Each transverse zone is further subdivided mediolaterally into parasagittal stripes. To gain insight into the evolution of cerebellar compartmentation, the pattern of zebrin II expression has been compared between the primate Macaca mulatta and the tree shrew Tupaia belangeri, and the results related to previous findings from other species. Although the somata of most Purkinje cells in the Macaca cerebellum express zebrin II, parasagittal stripes can still be delineated owing to the alternating high and low zebrin II immunoreactivity in the dendrites. In the macaque vermis, a complex set of zebrin II parasagittal compartments is found in all transverse zones. Unlike in rodents, in which uniform expression domains interrupt heterogeneous zones, zebrin II parasagittal stripes in the macaque cerebellum are seen throughout the vermis. In Tupaia, the parasagittal pattern of zebrin II expression also reveals a striking array of stripes in all lobules. The data suggest that cerebellar compartmentation in Tupaia belangeri more closely resembles that of primates than it does rodents or lagomorphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]