The paired lower olive core is located in the upper part of the elongated spinal cord, lateral to the pyramidal paths. It receives both motor and sensory stimuli, which integrate here and are then transmitted through the olivocerebellar pathway to the cerebellar cortex.
The nucleus is connected to the so-called Guillain-Mollaret triangle. This circuit, also known as the myoclonic triangle, connects the contralateral nucleus dentatus and the ipsilateral small cell part of the nucleus ruber and the ipsilar inferior olive.
It thus forms a feedback circuit of the brainstem and cerebellar nuclei, which modulates spinal motor activity.