Cerebellar contributions to the acquisition and execution of learned reflex and volitional movements

Cortico-cerebellar coordination facilitates neuroprosthetic control

Temporally coordinated neural activity is central to nervous system function and purposeful behavior. Still, there is a paucity of evidence demonstrating how this coordinated activity within cortical and subcortical regions governs behavior. We investigated this between the primary motor (M1) and contralateral cerebellar cortex as rats learned a neuroprosthetic/brain-machine interface (BMI) task. In neuroprosthetic task, actuator movements are causally linked to M1 "direct" neurons that drive the decoder for successful task execution. However, it is unknown how task-related M1 activity interacts with the cerebellum. We observed a notable 3 to 6 hertz coherence that emerged between these regions' local field potentials (LFPs) with learning that also modulated task-related spiking. We identified robust task-related indirect modulation in the cerebellum, which developed a preferential relationship with M1 task-related activity. Inhibiting cerebellar cortical and deep nuclei activity through optogenetics led to performance impairments in M1-driven neuroprosthetic control. Together, these results demonstrate that cerebellar influence is necessary for M1-driven neuroprosthetic control.

Emergent Low-Frequency Activity in Cortico-Cerebellar Networks with Motor Skill Learning

The motor cortex controls skilled arm movement by recruiting a variety of targets in the nervous system, and it is important to understand the emergent activity in these regions as refinement of a motor skill occurs. One fundamental projection of the motor cortex (M1) is to the cerebellum. However, the emergent activity in the motor cortex and the cerebellum that appears as a dexterous motor skill is consolidated is incompletely understood. Here, we report on low-frequency oscillatory (LFO) activity that emerges in cortico-cerebellar networks with learning the reach-to-grasp motor skill. We chronically recorded the motor and the cerebellar cortices in rats, which revealed the emergence of coordinated movement-related activity in the local-field potentials as the reaching skill consolidated. Interestingly, we found this emergent activity only in the rats that gained expertise in the task. We found that the local and cross-area spiking activity was coordinated with LFOs in proficient rats. Finally, we also found that these neural dynamics were more prominently expressed during accurate behavior in the M1. This work furthers our understanding on emergent dynamics in the cortico-cerebellar loop that underlie learning and execution of precise skilled movement.

The cerebellum and sensorimotor coupling: Looking at the problem from the perspective of vestibular reflexes

Cerebellar modules process afferent information and deliver outputs relevant for both reflex and voluntary movements. The response of cerebellar modules to a given input depends on the whole array of signals impinging on them. Studies on vestibular reflexes indicate that the response of the cerebellar circuits to the vestibular input is modified by the integration of multiple visual, vestibular and somatosensory afferent signals. In this way the cerebellum slowly adapts these reflexes when they are not adequate to the behavioural condition and allows their fast modifications when the relative position of the body segments and that of the body in space are changed. Studies on voluntary movements indicate that the cerebellum is responsible for motor learning that consists of the development of new input-output associations. Several theoretical, anatomical and clinical studies are consistent with the hypothesis that the cerebellum allows the delivery of motor commands which vary according to the condition of the motor apparatus. Finally, the cerebellum could change the relation between visual information and aimed reaching movements according to the position of the eyes in the orbit and of the neck over the body. We propose that, due to the large expansion of its cortex, an important function of the cerebellum could be that of expanding the range of sensorimotor associations according to all the factors characterizing the behavioural condition. Indeed, following cerebellar lesion, learning is often lost, the movement results impaired and requires an increased attention. In the light of the recently discovered connections of the cerebellum with the rostral regions of the frontal lobe, it can be suggested that the ability of cerebellar circuits to modify the rules of input-output coupling according to a general context is a fundamental property allowing the cerebellum to control not only motor but also cognitive functions.

The cerebellum may implement the appropriate coupling of sensory inputs and motor responses: evidence from vestibular physiology

Starting from a survey of current ideas on the role of the cerebellum in sensorimotor transformations, the present review summarizes the results of recent experiments showing that (a) somatosensory signals modify the spatial organization of the postural reflexes, thus leading to body stability, and (b) otolith input changes the plane of reflex eye movements, by keeping it perpendicular to the gravito-inertial vector. Evidence will be given that both transformations require the integrity of specific cerebellar regions. These data indicates that the cerebellum allows an optimal input-output coupling in relation to the ultimate behavioural goal of the motor activity.

Intellect declines in healthy elderly subjects and cerebellum

Scores of the performance scale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) declined linearly with age from the 6th decade, whereas those of the verbal scale did not. This decrease in performance intelligence was thought to be related to an age-related frontal atrophy. The relationship between scores of the WAIS and changes in regional cortical gray matter density were examined in healthy elderly subjects using voxel-based morphometry. Thirty healthy non-demented individuals >50 years of age were tested with the WAIS and scanned with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The right neocerebellum was significantly associated with scores of the performance intelligence scale while frontal lobes were not. The current study suggests that the cerebellum may play an important role in changes of intellectual capacity in old age.

Cerebellar activation during copying geometrical shapes

We studied functional MRI activation in the cerebellum during copying 9 geometrical shapes (equilateral triangle, isosceles triangle, square, diamond, vertical trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, circle, and vertical lemniscate). Twenty subjects were imaged during 3 consecutive 45-s periods (rest, visual presentation, and copying). First, there was a positive relation between cerebellar activation and the peak speed of individual movements. This effect was strongest in the lateral and posterior ipsilateral cerebellum but it was also present in the paramedian zones of both cerebellar hemispheres and in the vermis. A finer grain analysis of the relations between the time course of the blood oxygenation level-dependent activation and movement parameters revealed a significant relation to hand position and speed but not to acceleration. Second, there was a significant relation between the intensity of voxel activation during visual presentation and the speed of the upcoming movement. The spatial distribution of these voxels was very similar to that of the voxels activated during copying, indicating that the cerebellum might be involved in motor rehearsal, in addition to its role during movement execution. Finally, a factor analysis of the intensity of activated voxels in the ipsilateral cerebellum during copying (adjusted for the speed effect) extracted 3 shape factors. Factor 1 reflected "roundness," factor 2 "upward pointing," and factor 3 "pointing (up or down) and elongation." These results link cerebellar activation to more global, spatial aspects of copying.

Experience-dependent changes in cerebellar contributions to motor sequence learning

Studies in experimental animals and humans have stressed the role of the cerebellum in motor skill learning. Yet, the relative importance of the cerebellar cortex and deep nuclei, as well as the nature of the dynamic functional changes occurring between these and other motor-related structures during learning, remains in dispute. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a motor sequence learning paradigm in humans, we found evidence of an experience-dependent shift of activation from the cerebellar cortex to the dentate nucleus during early learning, and from a cerebellar-cortical to a striatal-cortical network with extended practice. The results indicate that intrinsic modulation within the cerebellum, in concert with activation of motor-related cortical regions, serves to set up a procedurally acquired sequence of movements that is then maintained elsewhere in the brain.

Novel vs. well-learned memory for faces: a positron emission tomography study

Previous work has suggested that familiarity/novelty of learned materials affects the circuitry involved in memory, primarily in the size of activations rather than the pattern of activation. Although this work has examined both recall and recognition, it has been limited to verbal material. In this study, we set out to determine if the same result applies to nonverbal memory. We used the same experimental design, but used faces as the memory task. Healthy volunteers thoroughly learned a set of 18 faces a week prior to the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) experiment (well-learned memory) and were asked to remember another set of 18 faces, to which they were exposed 1 min before the PET experiment (novel memory). During the PET session, their task was to recognize the faces learned a week before and the faces seen a minute before; the "remembered faces" were interspersed among entirely new (distractor) faces. We found that, unlike for verbal material, the retention interval and the familiarity level of the faces affected both the pattern and the size of activations. Comparing the novel and well-learned recognition tasks revealed that novel memory for faces is primarily a frontal-lobe task, while well-learned recognition memory for faces utilizes a more distributed neural circuit, including visual areas, which appear to serve as memory-storage sites.

Effects of hypothermia and lamotrigine on trace-conditioned learning after global cerebral ischemia in rabbits

Acquisition of the trace-conditioned eye blink response (CR) is mediated by a variety of brain structures, including the cerebellum, the hippocampus, and brain stem nuclei. We examined the effects of a neuronal sodium channel antagonist (lamotrigine) on the ability of rabbits to acquire an eye blink CR after 6.5 min of cerebral ischemia. New Zealand white rabbits (n = 31) were randomly assigned to sham (S), normothermic ischemia (N), hypothermic (30 degrees C) ischemia-(H), or lamotrigine (50 mg/kg) treated (L) groups. In the N, H, and L groups, 6.5 min of global cerebral ischemia was produced using an inflatable neck tourniquet. Trace conditioning was started on the 7th postischemic day. The conditioned stimulus consisted of a tone (85 dB, 6 kHz) presented for 100 ms. The unconditioned stimulus was an air puff (150 ms duration) directed at the cornea. The interval between the end of the conditioned stimulus and the start of the unconditioned stimulus (the trace interval, TI) was 300 ms in duration. A trace-conditioned response was defined as an eye blink that was initiated during the TI. Eighty trials were delivered daily for 15 days. Neurologic deficits were greatest in the N group, and these animals had fewer CRs (149 +/- 157) than animals in the S (509 +/- 214) or H (461 +/- 149) groups (P < 0.05 by analysis of variance). Animals in the L group had a total number of CRs (380 +/- 253) that was intermediate between the S and N groups. Histologic evidence of neural injury was greatest in the N group. This study demonstrates that a brief episode of cerebral ischemia results in the impairment of this test of neurobehavioral function. Both hypothermia and lamotrigine were able to attenuate the impairment of eye blink trace-conditioned responses produced by cerebral ischemia.

Effects of cerebellar nuclear inactivation on the learning of a complex forelimb movement in cats

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of inactivating concurrently the cerebellar interposed and dentate nuclei on the capacity of cats to acquire and retain a complex, goal-directed forelimb movement. To assess the effects on acquisition, cats were required to learn to move a vertical manipulandum bar through a two-segment template with a shape approximating an inverted "L" after the injection of muscimol (saline for the control group) in the interposed and dentate cerebellar nuclei. During training periods, they were exposed progressively to more difficult templates, which were created by decreasing the angle between the two segments of the template. After determining the most difficult template the injected animals could learn within the specified time and performance constraints, the retraining phase of the experiment was initiated in which the cats were required to execute the same sequence of templates in the absence of any injection. This stage of the experiment assessed retention and determined the extent of any relearning required to execute the task at criterion levels. Next, the animals were overtrained without any injection on the most difficult template they could perform. Finally, to determine the effects of nuclear inactivation on retention after extensive retraining, their capacity to perform the same template was determined after muscimol injection in the interposed and dentate nuclei. The findings show that during the inactivation of the dentate and interposed nuclei the animals could learn to execute the more difficult templates. However, when required to execute the most difficult template learned under muscimol on the day after injections were discontinued, the cats had to "relearn" (reacquire) the movement. Finally, when the cerebellar nuclei were inactivated after the animals learned the task in the absence of any injections during the retraining phase, retention was not blocked. The data indicate that the intermediate and lateral cerebellum are not required either for learning this type of complex voluntary movement or for retaining the capacity to perform the task once it is learned. Nevertheless, when the cerebellum becomes available for executing a task learned in the absence of this structure, reacquisition of the behavior usually is necessary. It is hypothesized that the relearning observed after acquisition during muscimol inactivation reflects the tendency of the system to incorporate the cerebellum into the interactions responsible for the learning and performance of a motor sequence that is optimal for executing the task.