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Gouhier A, Villette V, Mathieu B, Ayon A, Bradley J, Dieudonné S. Identification and Organization of a Postural Anti-Gravity Module in the Cerebellar Vermis. Neuroscience 2024:S0306-4522(24)00263-X. [PMID: 38897374 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The cerebellum is known to control the proper balance of isometric muscular contractions that maintain body posture. Current optogenetic manipulations of the cerebellar cortex output, however, have focused on ballistic body movements, examining movement initiation or perturbations. Here, by optogenetic stimulations of cerebellar Purkinje cells, which are the output of the cerebellar cortex, we evaluate body posture maintenance. By sequential analysis of body movement, we dissect the effect of optogenetic stimulation into a directly induced movement that is then followed by a compensatory reflex to regain body posture. We identify a module in the medial part of the anterior vermis which, through multiple muscle tone regulation, is involved in postural anti-gravity maintenance of the body. Moreover, we report an antero-posterior and medio-lateral functional segregation over the vermal lobules IV/V/VI. Taken together our results open new avenues for better understanding of the modular functional organization of the cerebellar cortex and its role in postural anti-gravity maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien Gouhier
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Vincent Villette
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Benjamin Mathieu
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Annick Ayon
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Jonathan Bradley
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Stéphane Dieudonné
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France.
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2
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Öhman J, Sjölin E, Cundari M, Johansson F, Gilbert M, Boele HJ, Svensson P, Rasmussen A. The Effect of Nucleo-Olivary Stimulation on Climbing Fiber EPSPs in Purkinje Cells. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024:10.1007/s12311-024-01682-1. [PMID: 38467957 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-024-01682-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Climbing fibers, connecting the inferior olive and Purkinje cells, form the nervous system's strongest neural connection. These fibers activate after critical events like motor errors or anticipation of rewards, leading to bursts of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in Purkinje cells. The number of EPSPs is a crucial variable when the brain is learning a new motor skill. Yet, we do not know what determines the number of EPSPs. Here, we measured the effect of nucleo-olivary stimulation on periorbital elicited climbing fiber responses through in-vivo intracellular Purkinje cell recordings in decerebrated ferrets. The results show that while nucleo-olivary stimulation decreased the probability of a response occurring at all, it did not reduce the number of EPSPs. The results suggest that nucleo-olivary stimulation does not influence the number of EPSPs in climbing fiber bursts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josefine Öhman
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Elias Sjölin
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Maurizio Cundari
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Unit of Neuropsychiatry, Hospital of Helsingborg, Helsingborg, Sweden
- Unit of Neurology, Hospital of Helsingborg, Helsingborg, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Johansson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Mike Gilbert
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Henk-Jan Boele
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Washington Road, Princeton, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pär Svensson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Anders Rasmussen
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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3
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Hoang H, Tsutsumi S, Matsuzaki M, Kano M, Kawato M, Kitamura K, Toyama K. Dynamic organization of cerebellar climbing fiber response and synchrony in multiple functional components reduces dimensions for reinforcement learning. eLife 2023; 12:e86340. [PMID: 37712651 PMCID: PMC10531405 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebellar climbing fibers convey diverse signals, but how they are organized in the compartmental structure of the cerebellar cortex during learning remains largely unclear. We analyzed a large amount of coordinate-localized two-photon imaging data from cerebellar Crus II in mice undergoing 'Go/No-go' reinforcement learning. Tensor component analysis revealed that a majority of climbing fiber inputs to Purkinje cells were reduced to only four functional components, corresponding to accurate timing control of motor initiation related to a Go cue, cognitive error-based learning, reward processing, and inhibition of erroneous behaviors after a No-go cue. Changes in neural activities during learning of the first two components were correlated with corresponding changes in timing control and error learning across animals, indirectly suggesting causal relationships. Spatial distribution of these components coincided well with boundaries of Aldolase-C/zebrin II expression in Purkinje cells, whereas several components are mixed in single neurons. Synchronization within individual components was bidirectionally regulated according to specific task contexts and learning stages. These findings suggest that, in close collaborations with other brain regions including the inferior olive nucleus, the cerebellum, based on anatomical compartments, reduces dimensions of the learning space by dynamically organizing multiple functional components, a feature that may inspire new-generation AI designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huu Hoang
- ATR Neural Information Analysis LaboratoriesKyotoJapan
| | | | | | - Masanobu Kano
- Department of Neurophysiology, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Mitsuo Kawato
- ATR Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory GroupKyotoJapan
| | - Kazuo Kitamura
- Department of Neurophysiology, University of YamanashiKofuJapan
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4
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Todd NPM, Govender S, Keller PE, Colebatch JG. Electrophysiological activity from over the cerebellum and cerebrum during eye blink conditioning in human subjects. Physiol Rep 2023; 11:e15642. [PMID: 36971094 PMCID: PMC10041378 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.15642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We report the results of an experiment in which electrophysiological activity was recorded from the human cerebellum and cerebrum in a sample of 14 healthy subjects before, during and after a classical eye blink conditioning procedure with an auditory tone as conditional stimulus and a maxillary nerve unconditional stimulus. The primary aim was to show changes in the cerebellum and cerebrum correlated with behavioral ocular responses. Electrodes recorded EMG and EOG at peri-ocular sites, EEG from over the frontal eye-fields and the electrocerebellogram (ECeG) from over the posterior fossa. Of the 14 subjects half strongly conditioned while the other half were resistant. We confirmed that conditionability was linked under our conditions to the personality dimension of extraversion-introversion. Inhibition of cerebellar activity was shown prior to the conditioned response, as predicted by Albus (1971). However, pausing in high frequency ECeG and the appearance of a contingent negative variation (CNV) in both central leads occurred in all subjects. These led us to conclude that while conditioned cerebellar pausing may be necessary, it is not sufficient alone to produce overt behavioral conditioning, implying the existence of another central mechanism. The outcomes of this experiment indicate the potential value of the noninvasive electrophysiology of the cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil P M Todd
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- School of Clinical Medicine, Randwick Campus, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sendhil Govender
- School of Clinical Medicine, Randwick Campus, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Peter E Keller
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - James G Colebatch
- School of Clinical Medicine, Randwick Campus, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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5
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Ricci M, Kim J, Johansson F. A computational passage-of-time model of the cerebellar Purkinje cell in eyeblink conditioning. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1108346. [PMID: 36950506 PMCID: PMC10025386 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1108346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The cerebellar Purkinje cell controlling eyeblinks can learn, remember, and reproduce the interstimulus interval in a classical conditioning paradigm. Given temporally separated inputs, the cerebellar Purkinje cell learns to pause its tonic inhibition of a motor pathway with high temporal precision so that an overt blink occurs at the right time. Most models place the passage-of-time representation in upstream network effects. Yet, bypassing the upstream network and directly stimulating the Purkinje cell's pre-synaptic fibers during conditioning still causes acquisition of a well-timed response. Additionally, while network models are sensitive to variance in the temporal structure of probe stimulation, in vivo findings suggest that the acquired Purkinje cell response is not. Such findings motivate alternative approaches to modeling neural function. Here, we present a proof-of-principle model of the passage-of-time which is internal to the Purkinje cell and is invariant to probe structure. The model is consistent with puzzling findings, accurately recapitulates Purkinje cell firing during classical conditioning and makes testable electrophysiological predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ricci
- Carney Institute for Brain Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Junkyung Kim
- Carney Institute for Brain Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Fredrik Johansson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Fredrik Johansson
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6
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Gallistel CR, Johansson F, Jirenhed DA, Rasmussen A, Ricci M, Hesslow G. Quantitative properties of the creation and activation of a cell-intrinsic duration-encoding engram. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:1019812. [PMID: 36405788 PMCID: PMC9669310 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.1019812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The engram encoding the interval between the conditional stimulus (CS) and the unconditional stimulus (US) in eyeblink conditioning resides within a small population of cerebellar Purkinje cells. CSs activate this engram to produce a pause in the spontaneous firing rate of the cell, which times the CS-conditional blink. We developed a Bayesian algorithm that finds pause onsets and offsets in the records from individual CS-alone trials. We find that the pause consists of a single unusually long interspike interval. Its onset and offset latencies and their trial-to-trial variability are proportional to the CS-US interval. The coefficient of variation (CoV = σ/μ) are comparable to the CoVs for the conditional eye blink. The average trial-to-trial correlation between the onset latencies and the offset latencies is close to 0, implying that the onsets and offsets are mediated by two stochastically independent readings of the engram. The onset of the pause is step-like; there is no decline in firing rate between the onset of the CS and the onset of the pause. A single presynaptic spike volley suffices to trigger the reading of the engram; and the pause parameters are unaffected by subsequent volleys. The Fano factors for trial-to-trial variations in the distribution of interspike intervals within the intertrial intervals indicate pronounced non-stationarity in the endogenous spontaneous spiking rate, on which the CS-triggered firing pause supervenes. These properties of the spontaneous firing and of the engram read out may prove useful in finding the cell-intrinsic, molecular-level structure that encodes the CS-US interval.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fredrik Johansson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Dan-Anders Jirenhed
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Anders Rasmussen
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Matthew Ricci
- Carney Institute for Brain Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Germund Hesslow
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Germund Hesslow,
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7
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Ashida R, Walsh P, Brooks JCW, Cerminara NL, Apps R, Edwards RJ. Sensory and motor electrophysiological mapping of the cerebellum in humans. Sci Rep 2022; 12:177. [PMID: 34997137 PMCID: PMC8742093 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04220-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cerebellar damage during posterior fossa surgery in children can lead to ataxia and risk of cerebellar mutism syndrome. Compartmentalisation of sensorimotor and cognitive functions within the cerebellum have been demonstrated in animal electrophysiology and human imaging studies. Electrophysiological monitoring was carried out under general anaesthesia to assess the limb sensorimotor representation within the human cerebellum for assessment of neurophysiological integrity to reduce the incidence of surgical morbidities. Thirteen adult and paediatric patients undergoing posterior fossa surgery were recruited. Sensory evoked field potentials were recorded in response to mapping (n = 8) to electrical stimulation of limb nerves or muscles. For motor mapping (n = 5), electrical stimulation was applied to the surface of the cerebellum and evoked EMG responses were sought in facial and limb muscles. Sensory evoked potentials were found in two patients (25%). Responses were located on the surface of the right inferior posterior cerebellum to stimulation of the right leg in one patient, and on the left inferior posterior lobe in another patient to stimulation of left forearm. No evoked EMG responses were found for the motor mapping. The present study identifies challenges with using neurophysiological methods to map functional organization within the human cerebellum and considers ways to improve success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reiko Ashida
- Neurosurgery Department, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Trust, Bristol, UK.
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Peter Walsh
- Neurophysiology Department, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Trust, Bristol, UK
| | | | - Nadia L Cerminara
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Richard Apps
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Richard J Edwards
- Neurosurgery Department, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Trust, Bristol, UK
- Neurosurgery Department, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, University of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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8
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Todd NPM, Govender S, Colebatch JG. Non-invasive recording from the human cerebellum during a classical conditioning paradigm using the otolith-evoked blink reflex. Neurosci Lett 2021; 765:136270. [PMID: 34582972 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We studied nine normal volunteers with a classical conditioning paradigm using a mastoid tap, believed to activate otolith receptors, as an unconditional stimulus (US) and the consequent blink as the unconditioned response (UR). Both visual (alternation of stripes) and an auditory tone were used as conditional stimuli (CS). Recordings were made below the eyes at IO1 and IO2, from over the frontal eye fields (C3' and C4') and over the posterior fossa, the latter at sites we have previously reported that we were able to record an evoked climbing fibre response (CFR) at short latency. Behavioural analysis confirmed that weak conditioning did occur early, which subsequently showed extinction on repeated CS alone trials. Further, a UR was more likely to occur following a preceding CFR when preceded by a CS, supporting a correlation between the CFRs and behaviour. For further statistical analysis, the time period of interest was divided into a series of epochs, based around the events occurring at the time. Grand averages, plus analysis of variance, confirmed evidence of weak conditioning for the blink response following both modalities. The EMG associated with the eyeblink for the UR occurred at a similar time to the expected post-CFR pause in the spontaneous cerebellar activity, or electrocerebellogram (ECeG), while hypothesised conditioned pausing in the ECeG was also observed in CS alone trials. A correlation was found between the size of the CFR and the RMS amplitudes of the segments covering the ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential oVEMP, (periocular) EMG and the EOG. The slope was greater for the non-oVEMP segments than for the oVEMP segment suggesting the correlation was not simply due to differing sizes of the vestibular volley. We suggest that these recorded events fit with the proposed role of the CFR in Purkinje neurons in classical conditioning, gating the excitability of the cerebellar nuclei, and thereby neurons in the reticular formation mediating the otolith blink reflex. This effect appears to apply to polysynaptic reflexes only as there was no evidence of changes to the oVEMP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil P M Todd
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QC, UK; Prince of Wales Clinical School and UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Sendhil Govender
- Prince of Wales Clinical School and UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - James G Colebatch
- Prince of Wales Clinical School and UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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9
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Beekhof GC, Osório C, White JJ, van Zoomeren S, van der Stok H, Xiong B, Nettersheim IH, Mak WA, Runge M, Fiocchi FR, Boele HJ, Hoebeek FE, Schonewille M. Differential spatiotemporal development of Purkinje cell populations and cerebellum-dependent sensorimotor behaviors. eLife 2021; 10:63668. [PMID: 33973524 PMCID: PMC8195607 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Distinct populations of Purkinje cells (PCs) with unique molecular and connectivity features are at the core of the modular organization of the cerebellum. Previously, we showed that firing activity of PCs differs between ZebrinII-positive and ZebrinII-negative cerebellar modules (Zhou et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2019). Here, we investigate the timing and extent of PC differentiation during development in mice. We found that several features of PCs, including activity levels, dendritic arborization, axonal shape and climbing fiber input, develop differentially between nodular and anterior PC populations. Although all PCs show a particularly rapid development in the second postnatal week, anterior PCs typically have a prolonged physiological and dendritic maturation. In line herewith, younger mice exhibit attenuated anterior-dependent eyeblink conditioning, but faster nodular-dependent compensatory eye movement adaptation. Our results indicate that specific cerebellar regions have unique developmental timelines which match with their related, specific forms of cerebellum-dependent behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catarina Osório
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Joshua J White
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Bilian Xiong
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Marit Runge
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, United States
| | - Freek E Hoebeek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Department for Developmental Origins of Disease, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center and Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Utrecht, Netherlands
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10
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de Oude NL, Hoebeek FE, Ten Brinke MM, de Zeeuw CI, Boele HJ. Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning is severely impaired in tottering mice. J Neurophysiol 2020; 125:398-407. [PMID: 33326350 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00578.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cacna1a encodes the pore-forming α1A subunit of CaV2.1 voltage-dependent calcium channels, which regulate neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission. Purkinje cells in the cortex of cerebellum abundantly express these CaV2.1 channels. Here, we show that homozygous tottering (tg) mice, which carry a loss-of-function Cacna1a mutation, exhibit severely impaired learning in Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning, which is a cerebellar-dependent learning task. Performance of reflexive eyeblinks is unaffected in tg mice. Transient seizure activity in tg mice further corrupted the amplitude of eyeblink conditioned responses. Our results indicate that normal calcium homeostasis is imperative for cerebellar learning and that the oscillatory state of the brain can affect the expression thereof.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this study, we confirm the importance of normal calcium homeostasis in neurons for learning and memory formation. In a mouse model with a mutation in an essential calcium channel that is abundantly expressed in the cerebellum, we found severely impaired learning in eyeblink conditioning. Eyeblink conditioning is a cerebellar-dependent learning task. During brief periods of brain-wide oscillatory activity, as a result of the mutation, the expression of conditioned eyeblinks was even further disrupted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina L de Oude
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Freek E Hoebeek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department for Developmental Origins of Disease, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Chris I de Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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11
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A FN-MdV pathway and its role in cerebellar multimodular control of sensorimotor behavior. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6050. [PMID: 33247191 PMCID: PMC7695696 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19960-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The cerebellum is crucial for various associative sensorimotor behaviors. Delay eyeblink conditioning (DEC) depends on the simplex lobule-interposed nucleus (IN) pathway, yet it is unclear how other cerebellar modules cooperate during this task. Here, we demonstrate the contribution of the vermis-fastigial nucleus (FN) pathway in controlling DEC. We found that task-related modulations in vermal Purkinje cells and FN neurons predict conditioned responses (CRs). Coactivation of the FN and the IN allows for the generation of proper motor commands for CRs, but only FN output fine-tunes unconditioned responses. The vermis-FN pathway launches its signal via the contralateral ventral medullary reticular nucleus, which converges with the command from the simplex-IN pathway onto facial motor neurons. We propose that the IN pathway specifically drives CRs, whereas the FN pathway modulates the amplitudes of eyelid closure during DEC. Thus, associative sensorimotor task optimization requires synergistic modulation of different olivocerebellar modules each provide unique contributions. Delay eyeblink conditioning depends on the simplex lobule-interposed nucleus pathway in the cerebellum. Here, the authors show that the vermis-fastigial nucleus-medullary reticular nucleus pathway modulates the conditioned and unconditioned eyelid closure during delay eyeblink conditioning.
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12
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De Zeeuw CI. Bidirectional learning in upbound and downbound microzones of the cerebellum. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 22:92-110. [PMID: 33203932 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-00392-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Over the past several decades, theories about cerebellar learning have evolved. A relatively simple view that highlighted the contribution of one major form of heterosynaptic plasticity to cerebellar motor learning has given way to a plethora of perspectives that suggest that many different forms of synaptic and non-synaptic plasticity, acting at various sites, can control multiple types of learning behaviour. However, there still seem to be contradictions between the various hypotheses with regard to the mechanisms underlying cerebellar learning. The challenge is therefore to reconcile these different views and unite them into a single overall concept. Here I review our current understanding of the changes in the activity of cerebellar Purkinje cells in different 'microzones' during various forms of learning. I describe an emerging model that indicates that the activity of each microzone is bound to either increase or decrease during the initial stages of learning, depending on the directional and temporal demands of its downstream circuitry and the behaviour involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands. .,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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13
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Kir3 channel blockade in the cerebellar cortex suppresses performance of classically conditioned Purkinje cell responses. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15654. [PMID: 32973240 PMCID: PMC7515874 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72581-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In the eyeblink conditioning paradigm, cerebellar Purkinje cells learn to respond to the conditional stimulus with an adaptively timed pause in its spontaneous firing. Evidence suggests that the pause is elicited by glutamate released from parallel fibers and acting on metabotropic receptors (mGluR7) which initiates a delayed-onset suppression of firing. We suggested that G protein activation of hyperpolarizing Kir3 channels (or ‘GIRK’, G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying K+ channels) could be part of such a mechanism. Application of the Kir3 antagonist Tertiapin-LQ locally in the superficial layers of the cerebellar cortex in decerebrate ferrets suppressed normal performance of Purkinje cell pause responses to the conditional stimulus. Importantly, there was no detectable effect on spontaneous firing. These findings suggest that intact functioning of Kir3 channels in the cerebellar cortex is required for normal conditioned Purkinje cell responses.
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14
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Longley M, Ballard J, Andres-Alonso M, Varatharajah RC, Cuthbert H, Yeo CH. A Patterned Architecture of Monoaminergic Afferents in the Cerebellar Cortex: Noradrenergic and Serotonergic Fibre Distributions within Lobules and Parasagittal Zones. Neuroscience 2020; 462:106-121. [PMID: 32949672 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The geometry of the glutamatergic mossy-parallel fibre and climbing fibre inputs to cerebellar cortical Purkinje cells has powerfully influenced thinking about cerebellar functions. The compartmentation of the cerebellum into parasagittal zones, identifiable in olivo-cortico-nuclear projections, and the trajectories of the parallel fibres, transverse to these zones and following the long axes of the cortical folia, are particularly important. Two monoaminergic afferent systems, the serotonergic and noradrenergic, are major inputs to the cerebellar cortex but their architecture and relationship with the cortical geometry are poorly understood. Immunohistochemistry for the serotonin transporter (SERT) and for the noradrenaline transporter (NET) revealed strong anisotropy of these afferent fibres in the molecular layer of rat cerebellar cortex. Individual serotonergic fibres travel predominantly medial-lateral, along the long axes of the cortical folia, similar to parallel fibres and Zebrin II immunohistochemistry revealed that they can influence multiple zones. In contrast, individual noradrenergic fibres run predominantly parasagittally with rostral-caudal extents significantly longer than their medial-lateral deviations. Their local area of influence has similarities in form and size to those of identified microzones. Within the molecular layer, the orthogonal trajectories of these two afferent systems suggest different information processing. An individual serotonergic fibre must influence all zones and microzones within its medial-lateral trajectory. In contrast, noradrenergic fibres can influence smaller cortical territories, potentially as limited as a microzone. Evidence is emerging that these monoaminergic systems may not supply a global signal to all of their targets and their potential for cerebellar cortical functions is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Longley
- Dept. Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - John Ballard
- Dept. Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Maria Andres-Alonso
- Dept. Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Hadleigh Cuthbert
- Dept. Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Christopher H Yeo
- Dept. Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
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15
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Rasmussen A. Graded error signals in eyeblink conditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 170:107023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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16
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Vaaga CE, Brown ST, Raman IM. Cerebellar modulation of synaptic input to freezing-related neurons in the periaqueductal gray. eLife 2020; 9:e54302. [PMID: 32207681 PMCID: PMC7124251 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Innate defensive behaviors, such as freezing, are adaptive for avoiding predation. Freezing-related midbrain regions project to the cerebellum, which is known to regulate rapid sensorimotor integration, raising the question of cerebellar contributions to freezing. Here, we find that neurons of the mouse medial (fastigial) cerebellar nuclei (mCbN), which fire spontaneously with wide dynamic ranges, send glutamatergic projections to the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), which contains diverse cell types. In freely moving mice, optogenetically stimulating glutamatergic vlPAG neurons that express Chx10 reliably induces freezing. In vlPAG slices, mCbN terminals excite ~20% of neurons positive for Chx10 or GAD2 and ~70% of dopaminergic TH-positive neurons. Stimulating either mCbN afferents or TH neurons augments IPSCs and suppresses EPSCs in Chx10 neurons by activating postsynaptic D2 receptors. The results suggest that mCbN activity regulates dopaminergic modulation of the vlPAG, favoring inhibition of Chx10 neurons. Suppression of cerebellar output may therefore facilitate freezing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E Vaaga
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States
| | - Spencer T Brown
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States
| | - Indira M Raman
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States
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17
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Coughlan E, Garside VC, Wong SFL, Liang H, Kraus D, Karmakar K, Maheshwari U, Rijli FM, Bourne J, McGlinn E. A Hox Code Defines Spinocerebellar Neuron Subtype Regionalization. Cell Rep 2019; 29:2408-2421.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.10.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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18
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Johansson F. Intrinsic memory of temporal intervals in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 166:107103. [PMID: 31648018 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The general consensus for learning and memory, including in the cerebellum, is that modification of synaptic strength via long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD) are the primary mechanisms for the formation of memories. Recent findings suggest additional cellular mechanisms - referred to as 'intrinsic plasticity' - where a neuron's membrane excitability intrinsically changes. These mechanisms act like a dimmer and alter neuronal responsiveness by adjusting response amplitudes and spike thresholds. Here, I argue that classical conditioning of cerebellar Purkinje cell responses reveals yet another cell-intrinsic learning mechanism which significantly differs from both changes in synaptic strength and changes in membrane excitability. When the conditional (CS) and unconditional stimuli (US) are delivered directly to the Purkinje cell's immediate pre-synaptic afferents, the parallel fibres and the climbing fibre, the cell learns to respond to the CS with a pause in its spontaneous firing that reflects the interval between the two stimuli. The pause response has a delayed onset and adaptively timed maximum, offset and duration, determined by the previously experienced CS-US interval. The timing is not dependent on any network-generated time-varying input. This implies the existence of a timing mechanism and a memory substrate that encodes the duration of the CS-US interval inside the Purkinje cell. Such temporal interval learning is not simply a change that causes more or less firing in response to an input. Here, I review these findings in relation to the standard theory of synaptic strength changes and the network interactions believed to be necessary for generating time codes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrik Johansson
- Associative Learning Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Sweden; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, UK.
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19
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Lin CH, Tierney TM, Holmes N, Boto E, Leggett J, Bestmann S, Bowtell R, Brookes MJ, Barnes GR, Miall RC. Using optically pumped magnetometers to measure magnetoencephalographic signals in the human cerebellum. J Physiol 2019; 597:4309-4324. [PMID: 31240719 PMCID: PMC6767854 DOI: 10.1113/jp277899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Key points The application of conventional cryogenic magnetoencephalography (MEG) to the study of cerebellar functions is highly limited because typical cryogenic sensor arrays are far away from the cerebellum and naturalistic movement is not allowed in the recording. A new generation of MEG using optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) that can be worn on the head during movement has opened up an opportunity to image the cerebellar electrophysiological activity non‐invasively. We use OPMs to record human cerebellar MEG signals elicited by air‐puff stimulation to the eye. We demonstrate robust responses in the cerebellum. OPMs pave the way for studying the neurophysiology of the human cerebellum.
Abstract We test the feasibility of an optically pumped magnetometer‐based magnetoencephalographic (OP‐MEG) system for the measurement of human cerebellar activity. This is to our knowledge the first study investigating the human cerebellar electrophysiology using optically pumped magnetometers. As a proof of principle, we use an air‐puff stimulus to the eyeball in order to elicit cerebellar activity that is well characterized in non‐human models. In three subjects, we observe an evoked component at approx. 50 ms post‐stimulus, followed by a second component at approx. 85–115 ms post‐stimulus. Source inversion localizes both components in the cerebellum, while control experiments exclude potential sources elsewhere. We also assess the induced oscillations, with time‐frequency decompositions, and identify additional sources in the occipital lobe, a region expected to be active in our paradigm, and in the neck muscles. Neither of these contributes to the stimulus‐evoked responses at 50–115 ms. We conclude that OP‐MEG technology offers a promising way to advance the understanding of the information processing mechanisms in the human cerebellum. The application of conventional cryogenic magnetoencephalography (MEG) to the study of cerebellar functions is highly limited because typical cryogenic sensor arrays are far away from the cerebellum and naturalistic movement is not allowed in the recording. A new generation of MEG using optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) that can be worn on the head during movement has opened up an opportunity to image the cerebellar electrophysiological activity non‐invasively. We use OPMs to record human cerebellar MEG signals elicited by air‐puff stimulation to the eye. We demonstrate robust responses in the cerebellum. OPMs pave the way for studying the neurophysiology of the human cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chin-Hsuan Lin
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Tim M Tierney
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Niall Holmes
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Elena Boto
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - James Leggett
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Sven Bestmann
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Richard Bowtell
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Matthew J Brookes
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Gareth R Barnes
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - R Chris Miall
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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20
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Boele HJ, Peter S, Ten Brinke MM, Verdonschot L, IJpelaar ACH, Rizopoulos D, Gao Z, Koekkoek SKE, De Zeeuw CI. Impact of parallel fiber to Purkinje cell long-term depression is unmasked in absence of inhibitory input. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaas9426. [PMID: 30306129 PMCID: PMC6170036 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aas9426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning has been used extensively to study the neural mechanisms underlying associative and motor learning. During this simple learning task, memory formation takes place at Purkinje cells in defined areas of the cerebellar cortex, which acquire a strong temporary suppression of their activity during conditioning. Yet, it is unknown which neuronal plasticity mechanisms mediate this suppression. Two potential mechanisms include long-term depression of parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses and feed-forward inhibition by molecular layer interneurons. We show, using a triple transgenic approach, that only concurrent disruption of both these suppression mechanisms can severely impair conditioning, highlighting that both processes can compensate for each other's deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Saša Peter
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Zhenyu Gao
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Chris I. De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Corresponding author.
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21
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Brown ST, Raman IM. Sensorimotor Integration and Amplification of Reflexive Whisking by Well-Timed Spiking in the Cerebellar Corticonuclear Circuit. Neuron 2018; 99:564-575.e2. [PMID: 30017394 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
To test how cerebellar crus I/II Purkinje cells and their targets in the lateral cerebellar nuclei (CbN) integrate sensory and motor-related inputs and contribute to reflexive movements, we recorded extracellularly in awake, head-fixed mice during non-contact whisking. Ipsilateral or contralateral air puffs elicited changes in population Purkinje simple spike rates that matched whisking kinematics (∼1 Hz/1° protraction). Responses remained relatively unaffected when ipsilateral sensory feedback was removed by lidocaine but were reduced by optogenetically inhibiting the reticular nuclei. Optogenetically silencing cerebellar output suppressed movements. During puff-evoked whisks, both Purkinje and CbN cells generated well-timed spikes in sequential 2- to 4-ms windows at response onset, such that they alternately elevated their firing rates just before protraction. With spontaneous whisks, which were smaller than puff-evoked whisks, well-timed spikes were absent and CbN cells were inhibited. Thus, sensory input can facilitate millisecond-scale, well-timed spiking in Purkinje and CbN cells and amplify reflexive whisker movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer T Brown
- Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Evanston, IL 60208, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Indira M Raman
- Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Evanston, IL 60208, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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22
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Ten Brinke MM, Boele HJ, De Zeeuw CI. Conditioned climbing fiber responses in cerebellar cortex and nuclei. Neurosci Lett 2018; 688:26-36. [PMID: 29689340 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.04.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The eyeblink conditioning paradigm captures an elementary form of associative learning in a neural circuitry that is understood to an extraordinary degree. Cerebellar cortical Purkinje cell simple spike suppression is widely regarded as the main process underlying conditioned responses (CRs), leading to disinhibition of neurons in the cerebellar nuclei that innervate eyelid muscles downstream. However, recent work highlights the addition of a conditioned Purkinje cell complex spike response, which at the level of the interposed nucleus seems to translate to a transient spike suppression that can be followed by a rapid spike facilitation. Here, we review the characteristics of these responses at the cerebellar cortical and nuclear level, and discuss possible origins and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M Ten Brinke
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - H J Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - C I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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23
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Heiney SA, Ohmae S, Kim OA, Medina JF. Single-Unit Extracellular Recording from the Cerebellum During Eyeblink Conditioning in Head-Fixed Mice. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 134:39-71. [PMID: 31156292 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7549-5_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
This chapter presents a method for performing in vivo single-unit extracellular recordings and optogenetics during an associative, cerebellum-dependent learning task in head-fixed mice. The method uses a cylindrical treadmill system that reduces stress in the mice by allowing them to walk freely, yet it provides enough stability to maintain single-unit isolation of neurons for tens of minutes to hours. Using this system, we have investigated sensorimotor coding in the cerebellum while mice perform learned skilled movements.
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24
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Ten Brinke MM, Heiney SA, Wang X, Proietti-Onori M, Boele HJ, Bakermans J, Medina JF, Gao Z, De Zeeuw CI. Dynamic modulation of activity in cerebellar nuclei neurons during pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in mice. eLife 2017; 6:28132. [PMID: 29243588 PMCID: PMC5760204 DOI: 10.7554/elife.28132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While research on the cerebellar cortex is crystallizing our understanding of its function in learning behavior, many questions surrounding its downstream targets remain. Here, we evaluate the dynamics of cerebellar interpositus nucleus (IpN) neurons over the course of Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning. A diverse range of learning-induced neuronal responses was observed, including increases and decreases in activity during the generation of conditioned blinks. Trial-by-trial correlational analysis and optogenetic manipulation demonstrate that facilitation in the IpN drives the eyelid movements. Adaptive facilitatory responses are often preceded by acquired transient inhibition of IpN activity that, based on latency and effect, appear to be driven by complex spikes in cerebellar cortical Purkinje cells. Likewise, during reflexive blinks to periocular stimulation, IpN cells show excitation-suppression patterns that suggest a contribution of climbing fibers and their collaterals. These findings highlight the integrative properties of subcortical neurons at the cerebellar output stage mediating conditioned behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shane A Heiney
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States
| | - Xiaolu Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jacob Bakermans
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Javier F Medina
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States
| | - Zhenyu Gao
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Chris I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
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25
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Queenan BN, Ryan TJ, Gazzaniga M, Gallistel CR. On the research of time past: the hunt for the substrate of memory. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1396:108-125. [PMID: 28548457 PMCID: PMC5448307 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2016] [Revised: 03/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The search for memory is one of the oldest quests in written human history. For at least two millennia, we have tried to understand how we learn and remember. We have gradually converged on the brain and looked inside it to find the basis of knowledge, the trace of memory. The search for memory has been conducted on multiple levels, from the organ to the cell to the synapse, and has been distributed across disciplines with less chronological or intellectual overlap than one might hope. Frequently, the study of the mind and its memories has been severely restricted by technological or philosophical limitations. However, in the last few years, certain technologies have emerged, offering new routes of inquiry into the basis of memory. The 2016 Kavli Futures Symposium was devoted to the past and future of memory studies. At the workshop, participants evaluated the logic and data underlying the existing and emerging theories of memory. In this paper, written in the spirit of the workshop, we briefly review the history of the hunt for memory, summarizing some of the key debates at each level of spatial resolution. We then discuss the exciting new opportunities to unravel the mystery of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget N. Queenan
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Tomás J. Ryan
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Michael Gazzaniga
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Charles R. Gallistel
- Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
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26
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Giovannucci A, Badura A, Deverett B, Najafi F, Pereira TD, Gao Z, Ozden I, Kloth AD, Pnevmatikakis E, Paninski L, De Zeeuw CI, Medina JF, Wang SSH. Cerebellar granule cells acquire a widespread predictive feedback signal during motor learning. Nat Neurosci 2017; 20:727-734. [PMID: 28319608 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Cerebellar granule cells, which constitute half the brain's neurons, supply Purkinje cells with contextual information necessary for motor learning, but how they encode this information is unknown. Here we show, using two-photon microscopy to track neural activity over multiple days of cerebellum-dependent eyeblink conditioning in mice, that granule cell populations acquire a dense representation of the anticipatory eyelid movement. Initially, granule cells responded to neutral visual and somatosensory stimuli as well as periorbital airpuffs used for training. As learning progressed, two-thirds of monitored granule cells acquired a conditional response whose timing matched or preceded the learned eyelid movements. Granule cell activity covaried trial by trial to form a redundant code. Many granule cells were also active during movements of nearby body structures. Thus, a predictive signal about the upcoming movement is widely available at the input stage of the cerebellar cortex, as required by forward models of cerebellar control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Giovannucci
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.,Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, New York, USA
| | - Aleksandra Badura
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ben Deverett
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.,Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Farzaneh Najafi
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Talmo D Pereira
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Zhenyu Gao
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ilker Ozden
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.,School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Alexander D Kloth
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Eftychios Pnevmatikakis
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, New York, USA.,Departments of Statistics and Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Liam Paninski
- Departments of Statistics and Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Chris I De Zeeuw
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Javier F Medina
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Samuel S-H Wang
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
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27
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Abstract
Several lines of evidence show that classical or Pavlovian conditioning of blink responses depends on the cerebellum. Recordings from cerebellar Purkinje cells that control the eyelid and the conditioned blink show that during training with a conditioning protocol, a Purkinje cell develops a pause response to the conditional stimulus. This conditioned cellular response has many of the properties that characterise the overt blink. The present paper argues that the learned Purkinje cell pause response is the memory trace and main driver of the overt conditioned blink and that it explains many well-known behavioural phenomena.
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28
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Gómez A, Rodríguez-Expósito B, Durán E, Martín-Monzón I, Broglio C, Salas C, Rodríguez F. Relational and procedural memory systems in the goldfish brain revealed by trace and delay eyeblink-like conditioning. Physiol Behav 2016; 167:332-340. [PMID: 27720737 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The presence of multiple memory systems supported by different neural substrata has been demonstrated in animal and human studies. In mammals, two variants of eyeblink classical conditioning, differing only in the temporal relationships between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US), have been widely used to study the neural substrata of these different memory systems. Delay conditioning, in which both stimuli coincide in time, depends on a non-relational memory system supported by the cerebellum and associated brainstem circuits. In contrast, trace conditioning, in which a stimulus-free time gap separates the CS and the US, requires a declarative or relational memory system, thus depending on forebrain structures in addition to the cerebellum. The distinction between the explicit or relational and the implicit or procedural memory systems that support trace and delay classical conditioning has been extensively studied in mammals, but studies in other vertebrate groups are relatively scarce. In the present experiment we analyzed the differential involvement of the cerebellum and the telencephalon in delay and trace eyeblink-like classical conditioning in goldfish. The results show that whereas the cerebellum lesion prevented the eyeblink-like conditioning in both procedures, the telencephalon ablation impaired exclusively the acquisition of the trace conditioning. These data showing that comparable neural systems support delay and trace eyeblink conditioning in teleost fish and mammals suggest that these separate memory systems and their neural bases could be a shared ancestral brain feature of the vertebrate lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Gómez
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | - B Rodríguez-Expósito
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | - E Durán
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | - I Martín-Monzón
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | - C Broglio
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | - C Salas
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain; Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Chile
| | - F Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Psicobiología, Campus Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
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29
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Abstract
In classical eyeblink conditioning a subject learns to blink to a previously neutral stimulus. This conditional response is timed to occur just before an air puff to the eye. The learning is known to depend on the cerebellar cortex where Purkinje cells respond with adaptively timed pauses in their spontaneous firing. The pauses in the inhibitory Purkinje cells cause disinhibition of the cerebellar nuclei, which elicit the overt blinks. The timing of a Purkinje cell response was previously thought to require a temporal code in the input signal but recent work suggests that the Purkinje cells can learn to time their responses through an intrinsic mechanism that is activated by metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR7).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrik Johansson
- Associative learning group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, 22184, Sweden. ; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication & Learning, Lund University, 22184 Lund, Sweden
| | - Germund Hesslow
- Associative learning group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, 22184, Sweden. ; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication & Learning, Lund University, 22184 Lund, Sweden
| | - Javier F Medina
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
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Climbing Fiber Regulation of Spontaneous Purkinje Cell Activity and Cerebellum-Dependent Blink Responses(1,2,3). eNeuro 2016; 3:eN-TNWR-0067-15. [PMID: 26839917 PMCID: PMC4729836 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0067-15.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been known for a long time that GABAergic Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex, as well as their target neurons in the cerebellar nuclei, are spontaneously active. The cerebellar output will, therefore, depend on how input is integrated into this spontaneous activity. It has been shown that input from climbing fibers originating in the inferior olive controls the spontaneous activity in Purkinje cells. While blocking climbing fiber input to the Purkinje cells causes a dramatic increase in the firing rate, increased climbing fiber activity results in reduced Purkinje cell activity. However, the exact calibration of this regulation has not been examined systematically. Here we examine the relation between climbing fiber stimulation frequency and Purkinje cell activity in unanesthetized decerebrated ferrets. The results revealed a gradual suppression of Purkinje cell activity, starting at climbing fiber stimulation frequencies as low as 0.5 Hz. At 4 Hz, Purkinje cells were completely silenced. This effect lasted an average of 2 min after the stimulation rate was reduced to a lower level. We also examined the effect of sustained climbing fiber stimulation on overt behavior. Specifically, we analyzed conditioned blink responses, which are known to be dependent on the cerebellum, while stimulating the climbing fibers at different frequencies. In accordance with the neurophysiological data, the conditioned blink responses were suppressed at stimulation frequencies of ≥4 Hz.
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Johansson F, Carlsson H, Rasmussen A, Yeo C, Hesslow G. Activation of a Temporal Memory in Purkinje Cells by the mGluR7 Receptor. Cell Rep 2015; 13:1741-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.10.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Revised: 08/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
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Evolving Models of Pavlovian Conditioning: Cerebellar Cortical Dynamics in Awake Behaving Mice. Cell Rep 2015; 13:1977-88. [PMID: 26655909 PMCID: PMC4674627 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.10.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2015] [Revised: 07/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Three decades of electrophysiological research on cerebellar cortical activity underlying Pavlovian conditioning have expanded our understanding of motor learning in the brain. Purkinje cell simple spike suppression is considered to be crucial in the expression of conditional blink responses (CRs). However, trial-by-trial quantification of this link in awake behaving animals is lacking, and current hypotheses regarding the underlying plasticity mechanisms have diverged from the classical parallel fiber one to the Purkinje cell synapse LTD hypothesis. Here, we establish that acquired simple spike suppression, acquired conditioned stimulus (CS)-related complex spike responses, and molecular layer interneuron (MLI) activity predict the expression of CRs on a trial-by-trial basis using awake behaving mice. Additionally, we show that two independent transgenic mouse mutants with impaired MLI function exhibit motor learning deficits. Our findings suggest multiple cerebellar cortical plasticity mechanisms underlying simple spike suppression, and they implicate the broader involvement of the olivocerebellar module within the interstimulus interval. Simple spike suppression correlates trial by trial to conditioned eyelid behavior Conditioned stimulus-related complex spikes relate to simple spikes and behavior Molecular layer interneuron (MLI) modulation correlates to behavior Transgenic deficits in MLI input result in partially impaired eyeblink conditioning
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Purkinje cell activity during classical conditioning with different conditional stimuli explains central tenet of Rescorla–Wagner model [corrected]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:14060-5. [PMID: 26504227 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1516986112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
A central tenet of Rescorla and Wagner's model of associative learning is that the reinforcement value of a paired trial diminishes as the associative strength between the presented stimuli increases. Despite its fundamental importance to behavioral sciences, the neural mechanisms underlying the model have not been fully explored. Here, we present findings that, taken together, can explain why a stronger association leads to a reduced reinforcement value, within the context of eyeblink conditioning. Specifically, we show that learned pause responses in Purkinje cells, which trigger adaptively timed conditioned eyeblinks, suppress the unconditional stimulus (US) signal in a graded manner. Furthermore, by examining how Purkinje cells respond to two distinct conditional stimuli and to a compound stimulus, we provide evidence that could potentially help explain the somewhat counterintuitive overexpectation phenomenon, which was derived from the Rescorla-Wagner model.
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Abstract
Although our ability to store semantic declarative information can nowadays be readily surpassed by that of simple personal computers, our ability to learn and express procedural memories still outperforms that of supercomputers controlling the most advanced robots. To a large extent, our procedural memories are formed in the cerebellum, which embodies more than two-thirds of all neurons in our brain. In this review, we will focus on the emerging view that different modules of the cerebellum use different encoding schemes to form and express their respective memories. More specifically, zebrin-positive zones in the cerebellum, such as those controlling adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, appear to predominantly form their memories by potentiation mechanisms and express their memories via rate coding, whereas zebrin-negative zones, such as those controlling eyeblink conditioning, appear to predominantly form their memories by suppression mechanisms and express their memories in part by temporal coding using rebound bursting. Together, the different types of modules offer a rich repertoire to acquire and control sensorimotor processes with specific challenges in the spatiotemporal domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GE Rotterdam, The Netherlands Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michiel M Ten Brinke
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GE Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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35
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Regional functionality of the cerebellum. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2015; 33:150-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2015.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2015] [Revised: 03/23/2015] [Accepted: 03/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Cerebellar cortex and cerebellar nuclei are concomitantly activated during eyeblink conditioning: a 7T fMRI study in humans. J Neurosci 2015; 35:1228-39. [PMID: 25609637 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2492-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There are controversies whether learning of conditioned eyeblink responses primarily takes place within the cerebellar cortex, the interposed nuclei, or both. It has also been suggested that the cerebellar cortex may be important during early stages of learning, and that there is a shift to the cerebellar nuclei during later stages. As yet, human studies have provided little to resolve this question. In the present study, we established a setup that allows ultra-high-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the cerebellar cortex and interposed cerebellar nuclei simultaneously during delay eyeblink conditioning in humans. Event-related fMRI signals increased concomitantly in the cerebellar cortex and nuclei during early acquisition of conditioned eyeblink responses in 20 healthy human subjects. ANOVAs with repeated-measures showed significant effects of time across five blocks of 20 conditioning trials in the cortex and nuclei (p < 0.05, permutation corrected). Activations were most pronounced in, but not limited to, lobules VI and interposed nuclei. Increased activations were most prominent at the first time the maximum number of conditioned responses was achieved. Our data are consistent with a simultaneous and synergistic two-site model of learning during acquisition of classically conditioned eyeblinks. Because increased MRI signal reflects synaptic activity, concomitantly increased signals in the cerebellar nuclei and cortex are consistent with findings of learning related potentiation at the mossy fiber to nuclear cell synapse and mossy fiber to granule cell synapse. Activity related to the expression of conditioned responses, however, cannot be excluded.
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Hogri R, Bamford SA, Taub AH, Magal A, Giudice PD, Mintz M. A neuro-inspired model-based closed-loop neuroprosthesis for the substitution of a cerebellar learning function in anesthetized rats. Sci Rep 2015; 5:8451. [PMID: 25677559 PMCID: PMC4327125 DOI: 10.1038/srep08451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroprostheses could potentially recover functions lost due to neural damage. Typical neuroprostheses connect an intact brain with the external environment, thus replacing damaged sensory or motor pathways. Recently, closed-loop neuroprostheses, bidirectionally interfaced with the brain, have begun to emerge, offering an opportunity to substitute malfunctioning brain structures. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate a neuro-inspired model-based approach to neuroprostheses. A VLSI chip was designed to implement essential cerebellar synaptic plasticity rules, and was interfaced with cerebellar input and output nuclei in real time, thus reproducing cerebellum-dependent learning in anesthetized rats. Such a model-based approach does not require prior system identification, allowing for de novo experience-based learning in the brain-chip hybrid, with potential clinical advantages and limitations when compared to existing parametric "black box" models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roni Hogri
- Psychobiology Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Simeon A. Bamford
- Complex Systems Modeling Group, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Aryeh H. Taub
- Psychobiology Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Ari Magal
- Psychobiology Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Paolo Del Giudice
- Complex Systems Modeling Group, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Matti Mintz
- Psychobiology Research Unit, School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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38
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Johansson F, Hesslow G. Theoretical considerations for understanding a Purkinje cell timing mechanism. Commun Integr Biol 2014; 7:e994376. [PMID: 26479712 PMCID: PMC4594589 DOI: 10.4161/19420889.2014.994376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In classical conditioning, cerebellar Purkinje cells learn an adaptively timed pause in spontaneous firing. This pause reaches its maximum near the end of the interstimulus interval. While it was thought that this timing was due to temporal patterns in the input signal and selective engagement of changes in synapse strength, we have shown Purkinje cells learn timed responses even when the conditional stimulus is delivered to its immediate afferents.1 This shows that Purkinje cells have a cellular timing mechanism. The cellular models of intrinsic timing we are aware of are based on adapting the rise time of the concentration of a given ion. As an alternative, we here propose a selection mechanism in abstract terms for how a Purkinje cell could learn to respond at a particular time after an external trigger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrik Johansson
- Associative Learning Group; Department of Experimental Medical Science; Lund University ; Lund, Sweden ; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition; Communication & Learning; Lund University ; Lund, Sweden
| | - Germund Hesslow
- Associative Learning Group; Department of Experimental Medical Science; Lund University ; Lund, Sweden ; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition; Communication & Learning; Lund University ; Lund, Sweden
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Memory trace and timing mechanism localized to cerebellar Purkinje cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:14930-4. [PMID: 25267641 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1415371111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The standard view of the mechanisms underlying learning is that they involve strengthening or weakening synaptic connections. Learned response timing is thought to combine such plasticity with temporally patterned inputs to the neuron. We show here that a cerebellar Purkinje cell in a ferret can learn to respond to a specific input with a temporal pattern of activity consisting of temporally specific increases and decreases in firing over hundreds of milliseconds without a temporally patterned input. Training Purkinje cells with direct stimulation of immediate afferents, the parallel fibers, and pharmacological blocking of interneurons shows that the timing mechanism is intrinsic to the cell itself. Purkinje cells can learn to respond not only with increased or decreased firing but also with an adaptively timed activity pattern.
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Najafi F, Giovannucci A, Wang SSH, Medina JF. Coding of stimulus strength via analog calcium signals in Purkinje cell dendrites of awake mice. eLife 2014; 3:e03663. [PMID: 25205669 PMCID: PMC4158287 DOI: 10.7554/elife.03663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The climbing fiber input to Purkinje cells acts as a teaching signal by triggering a massive influx of dendritic calcium that marks the occurrence of instructive stimuli during cerebellar learning. Here, we challenge the view that these calcium spikes are all-or-none and only signal whether the instructive stimulus has occurred, without providing parametric information about its features. We imaged ensembles of Purkinje cell dendrites in awake mice and measured their calcium responses to periocular airpuffs that serve as instructive stimuli during cerebellar-dependent eyeblink conditioning. Information about airpuff duration and pressure was encoded probabilistically across repeated trials, and in two additional signals in single trials: the synchrony of calcium spikes in the Purkinje cell population, and the amplitude of the calcium spikes, which was modulated by a non-climbing fiber pathway. These results indicate that calcium-based teaching signals in Purkinje cells contain analog information that encodes the strength of instructive stimuli trial-by-trial. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03663.001 A region of the brain known as the cerebellum plays a key role in learning how to anticipate an event. For example, if you know that a puff of air is going to be directed at your eye, it's a good idea to close it in advance. However, how much you need to close it depends on how strong that puff of air is. A very strong puff might require closing the eye completely to protect it. In contrast, it is probably better to only partially close the eye if you know a lighter puff of air is coming, so that you can still see. Extensive research has focused on how neurons in and around the cerebellum work together to achieve this goal. When an event—such as a puff of air—occurs, signals are sent to large neurons in the cerebellum, called Purkinje cells, by ‘climbing fibers’. However, climbing fibers were thought to be able to respond in only two ways: either they fire in a single burst to signal that an event has occurred, or they don't fire. It was therefore unclear how the finer details of the event (for example, the strength of the puff of air) are transmitted to the cerebellum. Najafi et al. imaged the level of calcium in the cerebellum of mice, as this indicates how active the neurons are. When a puff of air was directed at the eyes of the mice, Najafi et al. saw that the size of the response of the Purkinje cells corresponded with how big the puff of air was. Najafi et al. show that the size of this response, which is based mostly on input from the climbing fibers, is also influenced by input from an additional unknown source. These findings show that Purkinje cells of the cerebellum receive detailed information about the nature of an event, such as a puff of air. What remains to be seen is whether the cerebellum uses this information to learn the correct response, that is how hard to blink to avoid the expected puff. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03663.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzaneh Najafi
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Andrea Giovannucci
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
| | - Samuel S-H Wang
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
| | - Javier F Medina
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
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41
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Rasmussen A, Jirenhed DA, Wetmore DZ, Hesslow G. Changes in complex spike activity during classical conditioning. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:90. [PMID: 25140129 PMCID: PMC4122208 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Accepted: 07/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebellar cortex is necessary for adaptively timed conditioned responses (CRs) in eyeblink conditioning. During conditioning, Purkinje cells acquire pause responses or "Purkinje cell CRs" to the conditioned stimuli (CS), resulting in disinhibition of the cerebellar nuclei (CN), allowing them to activate motor nuclei that control eyeblinks. This disinhibition also causes inhibition of the inferior olive (IO), via the nucleo-olivary pathway (N-O). Activation of the IO, which relays the unconditional stimulus (US) to the cortex, elicits characteristic complex spikes in Purkinje cells. Although Purkinje cell activity, as well as stimulation of the CN, is known to influence IO activity, much remains to be learned about the way that learned changes in simple spike firing affects the IO. In the present study, we analyzed changes in simple and complex spike firing, in extracellular Purkinje cell records, from the C3 zone, in decerebrate ferrets undergoing training in a conditioning paradigm. In agreement with the N-O feedback hypothesis, acquisition resulted in a gradual decrease in complex spike activity during the conditioned stimulus, with a delay that is consistent with the long N-O latency. Also supporting the feedback hypothesis, training with a short interstimulus interval (ISI), which does not lead to acquisition of a Purkinje cell CR, did not cause a suppression of complex spike activity. In contrast, observations that extinction did not lead to a recovery in complex spike activity and the irregular patterns of simple and complex spike activity after the conditioned stimulus are less conclusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Rasmussen
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Associative Learning Group, Lund University Lund, Sweden ; Linneaus Center CCL, Lund University Lund, Sweden
| | - Dan-Anders Jirenhed
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Associative Learning Group, Lund University Lund, Sweden ; Linneaus Center CCL, Lund University Lund, Sweden
| | - Daniel Z Wetmore
- Department of Physics, James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Stanford University Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Germund Hesslow
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Associative Learning Group, Lund University Lund, Sweden ; Linneaus Center CCL, Lund University Lund, Sweden
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Cerebellar Inhibitory Output Shapes the Temporal Dynamics of Its Somatosensory Inferior Olivary Input. THE CEREBELLUM 2014; 13:452-61. [DOI: 10.1007/s12311-014-0558-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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43
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Abstract
Purkinje cells (PCs) of the cerebellar cortex are necessary for controlling movement with precision, but a mechanistic explanation of how the activity of these inhibitory neurons regulates motor output is still lacking. We used an optogenetic approach in awake mice to show for the first time that transiently suppressing spontaneous activity in a population of PCs is sufficient to cause discrete movements that can be systematically modulated in size, speed, and timing depending on how much and how long PC firing is suppressed. We further demonstrate that this fine control of movement kinematics is mediated by a graded disinhibition of target neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei. Our results prove a long-standing model of cerebellar function and provide the first demonstration that suppression of inhibitory signals can act as a powerful mechanism for the precise control of behavior.
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44
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Abstract
Many forms of learning require temporally ordered stimuli. In Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning, a conditioned stimulus (CS) must precede the unconditioned stimulus (US) by at least about 100 ms for learning to occur. Conditioned responses are learned and generated by the cerebellum. Recordings from the cerebellar cortex during conditioning have revealed CS-triggered pauses in the firing of Purkinje cells that likely drive the conditioned blinks. The predominant view of the learning mechanism in conditioning is that long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber (PF)-Purkinje cell synapses underlies the Purkinje cell pauses. This raises a serious conceptual challenge because LTD is most effectively induced at short CS-US intervals, which do not support acquisition of eyeblinks. To resolve this discrepancy, we recorded Purkinje cells during conditioning with short or long CS-US intervals. Decerebrated ferrets trained with CS-US intervals ≥150 ms reliably developed Purkinje cell pauses, but training with an interval of 50 ms unexpectedly induced increases in CS-evoked spiking. This bidirectional modulation of Purkinje cell activity offers a basis for the requirement of a minimum CS-US interval for conditioning, but we argue that it cannot be fully explained by LTD, even when previous in vitro studies of stimulus-timing-dependent LTD are taken into account.
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Longley M, Yeo CH. Distribution of neural plasticity in cerebellum-dependent motor learning. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2014; 210:79-101. [PMID: 24916290 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63356-9.00004-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The cerebellum is essential for some forms of motor learning. Two examples that provide useful experimental models are modification of the vestibulo-ocular reflex and classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response (NMR) in the rabbit. There has been considerable analysis of these behavioral models and of conditioning of the eyelid blink reflex, which is similar in several respects to NMR conditioning but with some key differences in its control circuitry. The evidence is consistent with the suggestion that storage of these motor memories is to be found within the cerebellum and its associated brainstem circuitry. The cerebellum presents many advantages as a model system to characterize the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning behavioral learning. And yet, localizing the essential synaptic changes has proven to be difficult. A major problem has been to establish to what extent these neural changes are distributed through the cerebellar cortex, cerebellar nuclei, and associated brainstem nuclei. Inspired by recent theoretical work, here we review evidence that the distribution of plasticity across cortical and cerebellar nuclear (or brainstem vestibular system) levels for different learning tasks may be different and distinct. Our primary focus is on classical conditioning of the NMR and eyelid blink, and we offer comparisons with mechanisms for modifications of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. We describe a view of cerebellar learning that satisfies theoretical and empirical analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Longley
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Christopher H Yeo
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
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46
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Rasmussen A, Hesslow G. Feedback control of learning by the cerebello-olivary pathway. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2014; 210:103-19. [PMID: 24916291 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63356-9.00005-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The ability to anticipate future events and to modify erroneous anticipatory actions is crucial for the survival of any organism. Both theoretical and empirical lines of evidence implicate the cerebellum in this ability. It is often suggested that the cerebellum acquires "expectations" or "internal models." However, except in a metaphorical sense, the cerebellum, which consists of a set of interconnected nerve cells, cannot contain "internal models" or "have expectations." In this chapter, we try to untangle these metaphors by translating them back into neurophysiological cause and effect relationships. We approach this task from within the paradigm of classical conditioning, in which a subject, through repeated presentations of a conditional stimulus, followed by an unconditional stimulus, acquires a conditioned response. Importantly, the conditioned response is timed so that it anticipates the unconditioned response. Available neurophysiological evidence suggests that Purkinje cells, in the cerebellar cortex, generate the conditioned response. In addition, Purkinje cells provide negative feedback to the inferior olive, which is a relay for the unconditional stimulus, via the nucleo-olivary pathway. Purkinje cells can therefore regulate the intensity of the signal derived from the unconditional stimulus, which, in turn, decides subsequent plasticity. Hence, as learning progresses, the olivary signal will become weaker and weaker due to increasing negative feedback from Purkinje cells. Thus, in an important sense, learning-induced changes in Purkinje cell activity constitute an "expectation" or "anticipation" of a future event (the unconditional stimulus), and, consistent with theoretical models, future learning depends on the accuracy of this expectation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Rasmussen
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Germund Hesslow
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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47
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Hardiman MJ, Hsu HJ, Bishop DVM. Children with specific language impairment are not impaired in the acquisition and retention of Pavlovian delay and trace conditioning of the eyeblink response. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 127:428-439. [PMID: 24139661 PMCID: PMC3847270 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2013.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2013] [Revised: 08/23/2013] [Accepted: 08/24/2013] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Three converging lines of evidence have suggested that cerebellar abnormality is implicated in developmental language and literacy problems. First, some brain imaging studies have linked abnormalities in cerebellar grey matter to dyslexia and specific language impairment (SLI). Second, theoretical accounts of both dyslexia and SLI have postulated impairments of procedural learning and automatisation of skills, functions that are known to be mediated by the cerebellum. Third, motor learning has been shown to be abnormal in some studies of both disorders. We assessed the integrity of face related regions of the cerebellum using Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning in 7-11year-old children with SLI. We found no relationship between oral language skills or literacy skills with either delay or trace conditioning in the children. We conclude that this elementary form of associative learning is intact in children with impaired language or literacy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mervyn J Hardiman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, United Kingdom.
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Hesslow G, Jirenhed DA, Rasmussen A, Johansson F. Classical conditioning of motor responses: What is the learning mechanism? Neural Netw 2013; 47:81-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2013.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2012] [Revised: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Abstract
The central assumption of existing models of motor learning in the cerebellum is that cerebellar mossy fibres signal information about the context in which a movement is to be performed and climbing fibres signal in relation to a movement error. This leads to changes in the responsiveness of Purkinje cells, which on the next occasion will generate a corrected output in a given context. Support for this view has come mainly from work on adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. The discovery that classically conditioned eyeblink responses depend critically on the cerebellum offers the possibility to study the learning of a novel behaviour, rather than modification of an existing reflex. After repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus, such as a tone, with a blink-eliciting stimulus, the tone will acquire the ability to elicit a blink on its own. We review evidence from studies employing a wide variety of techniques that the cerebellum is critical in this type of learning as well as evidence that mossy and climbing fibres have roles assigned to them in cerebellar learning models.
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Affiliation(s)
- C H Yeo
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK WC1E 6BT
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Thieme A, Thürling M, Galuba J, Burciu RG, Göricke S, Beck A, Aurich V, Wondzinski E, Siebler M, Gerwig M, Bracha V, Timmann D. Storage of a naturally acquired conditioned response is impaired in patients with cerebellar degeneration. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 136:2063-76. [PMID: 23729474 PMCID: PMC3692033 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Previous findings suggested that the human cerebellum is involved in the acquisition but not the long-term storage of motor associations. The finding of preserved retention in cerebellar patients was fundamentally different from animal studies which show that both acquisition and retention depends on the integrity of the cerebellum. The present study investigated whether retention had been preserved because critical regions of the cerebellum were spared. Visual threat eye-blink responses, that is, the anticipatory closure of the eyes to visual threats, have previously been found to be naturally acquired conditioned responses. Because acquisition is known to take place in very early childhood, visual threat eye-blink responses can be used to test retention in patients with adult onset cerebellar disease. Visual threat eye-blink responses were tested in 19 adult patients with cerebellar degeneration, 27 adult patients with focal cerebellar lesions due to stroke, 24 age-matched control subjects, and 31 younger control subjects. High-resolution structural magnetic resonance images were acquired in patients to perform lesion–symptom mapping. Voxel-based morphometry was performed in patients with cerebellar degeneration, and voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping in patients with focal disease. Visual threat eye-blink responses were found to be significantly reduced in patients with cerebellar degeneration. Visual threat eye-blink responses were also reduced in patients with focal disease, but to a lesser extent. Visual threat eye-blink responses declined with age. In patients with cerebellar degeneration the degree of cerebellar atrophy was positively correlated with the reduction of conditioned responses. Voxel-based morphometry showed that two main regions within the superior and inferior parts of the posterior cerebellar cortex contributed to expression of visual threat eye-blink responses bilaterally. Involvement of the more inferior parts of the posterior lobe was further supported by voxel-based lesion symptom mapping in focal cerebellar patients. The present findings show that the human cerebellar cortex is involved in long-term storage of learned responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Thieme
- Department of Neurology, University Clinic Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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