1
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Richardson AM, Sokoloff G, Blumberg MS. Developmentally Unique Cerebellar Processing Prioritizes Self- over Other-Generated Movements. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2345232024. [PMID: 38589230 PMCID: PMC11079960 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2345-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals must distinguish the sensory consequences of self-generated movements (reafference) from those of other-generated movements (exafference). Only self-generated movements entail the production of motor copies (i.e., corollary discharges), which are compared with reafference in the cerebellum to compute predictive or internal models of movement. Internal models emerge gradually over the first three postnatal weeks in rats through a process that is not yet fully understood. Previously, we demonstrated in postnatal day (P) 8 and P12 rats that precerebellar nuclei convey corollary discharge and reafference to the cerebellum during active (REM) sleep when pups produce limb twitches. Here, recording from a deep cerebellar nucleus (interpositus, IP) in P12 rats of both sexes, we compared reafferent and exafferent responses with twitches and limb stimulations, respectively. As expected, most IP units showed robust responses to twitches. However, in contrast with other sensory structures throughout the brain, relatively few IP units showed exafferent responses. Upon finding that exafferent responses occurred in pups under urethane anesthesia, we hypothesized that urethane inhibits cerebellar cortical cells, thereby disinhibiting exafferent responses in IP. In support of this hypothesis, ablating cortical tissue dorsal to IP mimicked the effects of urethane on exafference. Finally, the results suggest that twitch-related corollary discharge and reafference are conveyed simultaneously and in parallel to cerebellar cortex and IP. Based on these results, we propose that twitches provide opportunities for the nascent cerebellum to integrate somatotopically organized corollary discharge and reafference, thereby enabling the development of closed-loop circuits and, subsequently, internal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M Richardson
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Greta Sokoloff
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Mark S Blumberg
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
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2
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Kebschull JM, Casoni F, Consalez GG, Goldowitz D, Hawkes R, Ruigrok TJH, Schilling K, Wingate R, Wu J, Yeung J, Uusisaari MY. Cerebellum Lecture: the Cerebellar Nuclei-Core of the Cerebellum. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 23:620-677. [PMID: 36781689 PMCID: PMC10951048 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-022-01506-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
The cerebellum is a key player in many brain functions and a major topic of neuroscience research. However, the cerebellar nuclei (CN), the main output structures of the cerebellum, are often overlooked. This neglect is because research on the cerebellum typically focuses on the cortex and tends to treat the CN as relatively simple output nuclei conveying an inverted signal from the cerebellar cortex to the rest of the brain. In this review, by adopting a nucleocentric perspective we aim to rectify this impression. First, we describe CN anatomy and modularity and comprehensively integrate CN architecture with its highly organized but complex afferent and efferent connectivity. This is followed by a novel classification of the specific neuronal classes the CN comprise and speculate on the implications of CN structure and physiology for our understanding of adult cerebellar function. Based on this thorough review of the adult literature we provide a comprehensive overview of CN embryonic development and, by comparing cerebellar structures in various chordate clades, propose an interpretation of CN evolution. Despite their critical importance in cerebellar function, from a clinical perspective intriguingly few, if any, neurological disorders appear to primarily affect the CN. To highlight this curious anomaly, and encourage future nucleocentric interpretations, we build on our review to provide a brief overview of the various syndromes in which the CN are currently implicated. Finally, we summarize the specific perspectives that a nucleocentric view of the cerebellum brings, move major outstanding issues in CN biology to the limelight, and provide a roadmap to the key questions that need to be answered in order to create a comprehensive integrated model of CN structure, function, development, and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justus M Kebschull
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Filippo Casoni
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, and San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - G Giacomo Consalez
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, and San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniel Goldowitz
- Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Richard Hawkes
- Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Tom J H Ruigrok
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Karl Schilling
- Department of Anatomy, Anatomy & Cell Biology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 53115, Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany
| | - Richard Wingate
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Joshua Wu
- Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Joanna Yeung
- Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Marylka Yoe Uusisaari
- Neuronal Rhythms in Movement Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-Son, Kunigami-Gun, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan.
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3
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Richardson AM, Sokoloff G, Blumberg MS. Developmentally unique cerebellar processing prioritizes self-over other-generated movements. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.16.571990. [PMID: 38168365 PMCID: PMC10760083 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.16.571990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Animals must distinguish the sensory consequences of self-generated movements (reafference) from those of other-generated movements (exafference). Only self-generated movements entail the production of motor copies (i.e., corollary discharges), which are compared with reafference in the cerebellum to compute predictive or internal models of movement. Internal models emerge gradually over the first three postnatal weeks in rats through a process that is not yet fully understood. Previously, we demonstrated in postnatal day (P) P8 and P12 rats that precerebellar nuclei convey corollary discharge and reafference to the cerebellum during active (REM) sleep when pups produce limb twitches. Here, recording from a deep cerebellar nucleus (interpositus, IP) in P12 rats of both sexes, we compared reafferent and exafferent responses to twitches and limb stimulations, respectively. As expected, most IP units showed robust responses to twitches. However, in contrast with other sensory structures throughout the brain, relatively few IP units showed exafferent responses. Upon finding that exafferent responses occurred in pups under urethane anesthesia, we hypothesized that urethane inhibits cerebellar cortical cells, thereby disinhibiting exafferent responses in IP. In support of this hypothesis, ablating cortical tissue dorsal to IP mimicked the effects of urethane on exafference. Finally, the results suggest that twitch-related corollary discharge and reafference are conveyed simultaneously and in parallel to cerebellar cortex and IP. Based on these results, we propose that twitches provide opportunities for the nascent cerebellum to integrate somatotopically organized corollary discharge and reafference, thereby enabling the development of closed-loop circuits and, subsequently, internal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M. Richardson
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, U.S.A
| | - Greta Sokoloff
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, U.S.A
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, U.S.A
| | - Mark S. Blumberg
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, U.S.A
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, U.S.A
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, U.S.A
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4
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Muller SZ, Pi JS, Hage P, Fakharian MA, Sedaghat-Nejad E, Shadmehr R. Complex spikes perturb movements and reveal the sensorimotor map of Purkinje cells. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4869-4879.e3. [PMID: 37858343 PMCID: PMC10751015 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Computations that are performed by the cerebellar cortex are transmitted via simple spikes of Purkinje cells (P-cells) to downstream structures, but because P-cells are many synapses away from muscles, we do not know the relationship between modulation of simple spikes and control of behavior. Here, we recorded the spiking activities of hundreds of P-cells in the oculomotor vermis of marmosets during saccadic eye movements and found that following the presentation of a visual stimulus, the olivary input to a P-cell coarsely described the direction and amplitude of the visual stimulus as well as the upcoming movement. Occasionally, the complex spike occurred just before saccade onset, suppressing the P-cell's simple spikes and disrupting its output during that saccade. Remarkably, this brief suppression of simple spikes altered the saccade's trajectory by pulling the eyes toward the part of the visual space that was preferentially encoded by the olivary input to that P-cell. Thus, there is an alignment between the sensory space encoded by the complex spikes and the behavior conveyed by the simple spikes: a reduction in simple spikes is a signal to bias the ongoing movement toward the part of the sensory space preferentially encoded by the olivary input to that P-cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salomon Z Muller
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Jay S Pi
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Paul Hage
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Mohammad Amin Fakharian
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ehsan Sedaghat-Nejad
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Reza Shadmehr
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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5
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Muller SZ, Pi JS, Hage P, Fakharian MA, Sedaghat-Nejad E, Shadmehr R. Complex spikes perturb movements, revealing the sensorimotor map of Purkinje cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.16.537034. [PMID: 37090615 PMCID: PMC10120735 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.16.537034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
The cerebellar cortex performs computations that are critical for control of our actions, and then transmits that information via simple spikes of Purkinje cells (P-cells) to downstream structures. However, because P-cells are many synapses away from muscles, we do not know how their output affects behavior. Furthermore, we do not know the level of abstraction, i.e., the coordinate system of the P-cell's output. Here, we recorded spiking activities of hundreds of P-cells in the oculomotor vermis of marmosets during saccadic eye movements and found that following the presentation of a visual stimulus, the olivary input to a P-cell encoded a probabilistic signal that coarsely described both the direction and the amplitude of that stimulus. When this input was present, the resulting complex spike briefly suppressed the P-cell's simple spikes, disrupting the P-cell's output during that saccade. Remarkably, this brief suppression altered the saccade's trajectory by pulling the eyes toward the part of the visual space that was preferentially encoded by the olivary input to that P-cell. Thus, analysis of behavior in the milliseconds following a complex spike unmasked how the P-cell's output influenced behavior: the preferred location in the coordinates of the visual system as conveyed probabilistically from the inferior olive to a P-cell defined the action in the coordinates of the motor system for which that P-cell's simple spikes directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salomon Z. Muller
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY USA
| | - Jay S. Pi
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
| | - Paul Hage
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
| | - Mohammad Amin Fakharian
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
| | - Ehsan Sedaghat-Nejad
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
| | - Reza Shadmehr
- Laboratory for Computational Motor Control, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
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6
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Krohn F, Novello M, van der Giessen RS, De Zeeuw CI, Pel JJM, Bosman LWJ. The integrated brain network that controls respiration. eLife 2023; 12:83654. [PMID: 36884287 PMCID: PMC9995121 DOI: 10.7554/elife.83654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Respiration is a brain function on which our lives essentially depend. Control of respiration ensures that the frequency and depth of breathing adapt continuously to metabolic needs. In addition, the respiratory control network of the brain has to organize muscular synergies that integrate ventilation with posture and body movement. Finally, respiration is coupled to cardiovascular function and emotion. Here, we argue that the brain can handle this all by integrating a brainstem central pattern generator circuit in a larger network that also comprises the cerebellum. Although currently not generally recognized as a respiratory control center, the cerebellum is well known for its coordinating and modulating role in motor behavior, as well as for its role in the autonomic nervous system. In this review, we discuss the role of brain regions involved in the control of respiration, and their anatomical and functional interactions. We discuss how sensory feedback can result in adaptation of respiration, and how these mechanisms can be compromised by various neurological and psychological disorders. Finally, we demonstrate how the respiratory pattern generators are part of a larger and integrated network of respiratory brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friedrich Krohn
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Manuele Novello
- 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, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Johan J M Pel
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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7
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Grillo M, Geminiani A, Alessandro C, D'Angelo E, Pedrocchi A, Casellato C. Bayesian Integration in a Spiking Neural System for Sensorimotor Control. Neural Comput 2022; 34:1893-1914. [PMID: 35896162 DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The brain continuously estimates the state of body and environment, with specific regions that are thought to act as Bayesian estimator, optimally integrating noisy and delayed sensory feedback with sensory predictions generated by the cerebellum. In control theory, Bayesian estimators are usually implemented using high-level representations. In this work, we designed a new spike-based computational model of a Bayesian estimator. The state estimator receives spiking activity from two neural populations encoding the sensory feedback and the cerebellar prediction, and it continuously computes the spike variability within each population as a reliability index of the signal these populations encode. The state estimator output encodes the current state estimate. We simulated a reaching task at different stages of cerebellar learning. The activity of the sensory feedback neurons encoded a noisy version of the trajectory after actual movement, with an almost constant intrapopulation spiking variability. Conversely, the activity of the cerebellar output neurons depended on the phase of the learning process. Before learning, they fired at their baseline not encoding any relevant information, and the variability was set to be higher than that of the sensory feedback (more reliable, albeit delayed). When learning was complete, their activity encoded the trajectory before the actual execution, providing an accurate sensory prediction; in this case, the variability was set to be lower than that of the sensory feedback. The state estimator model optimally integrated the neural activities of the afferent populations, so that the output state estimate was primarily driven by sensory feedback in prelearning and by the cerebellar prediction in postlearning. It was able to deal even with more complex scenarios, for example, by shifting the dominant source during the movement execution if information availability suddenly changed. The proposed tool will be a critical block within integrated spiking, brain-inspired control systems for simulations of sensorimotor tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Grillo
- Nearlab, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Alice Geminiani
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Cristiano Alessandro
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia 27100, Italy.,School of Medicine and Surgery/Sport and Exercise Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Egidio D'Angelo
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia 27100, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Alessandra Pedrocchi
- Nearlab, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Claudia Casellato
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia 27100, Italy
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8
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Migalev AS, Vigasina KD, Gotovtsev PM. A review of motor neural system robotic modeling approaches and instruments. BIOLOGICAL CYBERNETICS 2022; 116:271-306. [PMID: 35041073 DOI: 10.1007/s00422-021-00918-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this review, we are considering an actively developing tool in neuroscience-robotic modeling. The new perspective and existing application fields, tools, and methods are discussed. We try to determine starting positions and approaches that are useful at the beginning of new research in this field. Among multiple directions of the research is robotic modeling on the level of muscles fibers and their afferents, skin surface sensors, muscles, and joints proprioceptors. Some examples of technical implementation for physical modeling are reviewed. They are software and hardware tools like event-related modeling algorithms, reduced neuron models, robotic drives constructions. We observe existing drives technologies and prospective electric motor types: switched reluctance and transverse flux motors. Next, we look at the existing examples and approaches for robotic modeling of the cerebellum and spinal cord neural networks. These examples show practical methods for the model neural network architecture and adaptation. Those methods allow the use of cortical and spinal cord reflexes for the network training and apply additional artificial blocks for data processing in other brain structures that transmit and receive data from biologically realistic models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander S Migalev
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Intitute", 1, Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow, 123182, Russia
| | - Kristina D Vigasina
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS, 5A, Butlerova st., Moscow, 117485, Russia
| | - Pavel M Gotovtsev
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Intitute", 1, Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow, 123182, Russia
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology 9, Institutsky per., Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, 141701, Russian Federation
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9
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Beekhof GC, Gornati SV, Canto CB, Libster AM, Schonewille M, De Zeeuw CI, Hoebeek FE. Activity of Cerebellar Nuclei Neurons Correlates with ZebrinII Identity of Their Purkinje Cell Afferents. Cells 2021; 10:2686. [PMID: 34685666 PMCID: PMC8534335 DOI: 10.3390/cells10102686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellar cortex can be divided into at least two main subpopulations: one subpopulation that prominently expresses ZebrinII (Z+), and shows a relatively low simple spike firing rate, and another that hardly expresses ZebrinII (Z-) and shows higher baseline firing rates. Likewise, the complex spike responses of PCs, which are evoked by climbing fiber inputs and thus reflect the activity of the inferior olive (IO), show the same dichotomy. However, it is not known whether the target neurons of PCs in the cerebellar nuclei (CN) maintain this bimodal distribution. Electrophysiological recordings in awake adult mice show that the rate of action potential firing of CN neurons that receive input from Z+ PCs was consistently lower than that of CN neurons innervated by Z- PCs. Similar in vivo recordings in juvenile and adolescent mice indicated that the firing frequency of CN neurons correlates to the ZebrinII identity of the PC afferents in adult, but not postnatal stages. Finally, the spontaneous action potential firing pattern of adult CN neurons recorded in vitro revealed no significant differences in intrinsic pacemaking activity between ZebrinII identities. Our findings indicate that all three main components of the olivocerebellar loop, i.e., PCs, IO neurons and CN neurons, operate at a higher rate in the Z- modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerrit C. Beekhof
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.C.B.); (S.V.G.)
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Simona V. Gornati
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.C.B.); (S.V.G.)
| | - Cathrin B. Canto
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Avraham M. Libster
- Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel;
| | - Martijn Schonewille
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.C.B.); (S.V.G.)
| | - Chris I. De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.C.B.); (S.V.G.)
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Freek E. Hoebeek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.C.B.); (S.V.G.)
- Department for Developmental Origins of Disease, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 EA Utrecht, The Netherlands
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10
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Pan MK, Li YS, Wong SB, Ni CL, Wang YM, Liu WC, Lu LY, Lee JC, Cortes EP, Vonsattel JPG, Sun Q, Louis ED, Faust PL, Kuo SH. Cerebellar oscillations driven by synaptic pruning deficits of cerebellar climbing fibers contribute to tremor pathophysiology. Sci Transl Med 2021; 12:12/526/eaay1769. [PMID: 31941824 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aay1769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders and the prototypical disorder for abnormal rhythmic movements. However, the pathophysiology of tremor generation in ET remains unclear. Here, we used autoptic cerebral tissue from patients with ET, clinical data, and mouse models to report that synaptic pruning deficits of climbing fiber (CF)-to-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses, which are related to glutamate receptor delta 2 (GluRδ2) protein insufficiency, cause excessive cerebellar oscillations and might be responsible for tremor. The CF-PC synaptic pruning deficits were correlated with the reduction in GluRδ2 expression in the postmortem ET cerebellum. Mice with GluRδ2 insufficiency and CF-PC synaptic pruning deficits develop ET-like tremor that can be suppressed with viral rescue of GluRδ2 protein. Step-by-step optogenetic or pharmacological inhibition of neuronal firing, axonal activity, or synaptic vesicle release confirmed that the activity of the excessive CF-to-PC synapses is required for tremor generation. In vivo electrophysiology in mice showed that excessive cerebellar oscillatory activity is CF dependent and necessary for tremor and optogenetic-driven PC synchronization was sufficient to generate tremor in wild-type animals. Human validation by cerebellar electroencephalography confirmed that excessive cerebellar oscillations also exist in patients with ET. Our findings identify a pathophysiologic contribution to tremor at molecular (GluRδ2), structural (CF-to-PC synapses), physiological (cerebellar oscillations), and behavioral levels (kinetic tremor) that might have clinical applications for treating ET.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Kai Pan
- Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City 10002, Taiwan. .,Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan.,Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin 64041, Taiwan
| | - Yong-Shi Li
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Shi-Bing Wong
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City 23142, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Lun Ni
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Yi-Mei Wang
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin 64041, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Chuan Liu
- Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City 10002, Taiwan.,Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan
| | - Liang-Yin Lu
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan
| | - Jye-Chang Lee
- Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan
| | - Etty P Cortes
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Jean-Paul G Vonsattel
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Qian Sun
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44016, USA
| | - Elan D Louis
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.,Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Phyllis L Faust
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sheng-Han Kuo
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. .,Initiative of Columbia Ataxia and Tremor, New York, NY 10032, USA
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11
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Shadmehr R. Population coding in the cerebellum: a machine learning perspective. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:2022-2051. [PMID: 33112717 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00449.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The cere resembles a feedforward, three-layer network of neurons in which the "hidden layer" consists of Purkinje cells (P-cells) and the output layer consists of deep cerebellar nucleus (DCN) neurons. In this analogy, the output of each DCN neuron is a prediction that is compared with the actual observation, resulting in an error signal that originates in the inferior olive. Efficient learning requires that the error signal reach the DCN neurons, as well as the P-cells that project onto them. However, this basic rule of learning is violated in the cerebellum: the olivary projections to the DCN are weak, particularly in adulthood. Instead, an extraordinarily strong signal is sent from the olive to the P-cells, producing complex spikes. Curiously, P-cells are grouped into small populations that converge onto single DCN neurons. Why are the P-cells organized in this way, and what is the membership criterion of each population? Here, I apply elementary mathematics from machine learning and consider the fact that P-cells that form a population exhibit a special property: they can synchronize their complex spikes, which in turn suppress activity of DCN neuron they project to. Thus complex spikes cannot only act as a teaching signal for a P-cell, but through complex spike synchrony, a P-cell population may act as a surrogate teacher for the DCN neuron that produced the erroneous output. It appears that grouping of P-cells into small populations that share a preference for error satisfies a critical requirement of efficient learning: providing error information to the output layer neuron (DCN) that was responsible for the error, as well as the hidden layer neurons (P-cells) that contributed to it. This population coding may account for several remarkable features of behavior during learning, including multiple timescales, protection from erasure, and spontaneous recovery of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reza Shadmehr
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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12
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Climbing fiber synapses rapidly and transiently inhibit neighboring Purkinje cells via ephaptic coupling. Nat Neurosci 2020; 23:1399-1409. [PMID: 32895566 PMCID: PMC7606706 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0701-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Climbing fibers (CFs) from the inferior olive (IO) make strong excitatory synapses onto cerebellar Purkinje cell (PC) dendrites, and trigger distinctive responses known as complex spikes (CSs). We find that in awake mice, a CS in one PC suppresses conventional simple spikes (SSs) in neighboring PCs for several milliseconds. This involves a novel ephaptic coupling, in which an excitatory synapse generates large negative extracellular signals that nonsynaptically inhibit neighboring PCs. The distance dependence of CS-SS ephaptic signaling, combined with the known CF divergence, allows a single IO neuron to influence the output of the cerebellum by synchronously suppressing the firing of potentially over one hundred PCs. Optogenetic studies in vivo, and dynamic clamp studies in slice, indicate that such brief PC suppression, either as a result of ephaptic signaling or other mechanisms, can effectively promote firing in neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei with remarkable speed and precision.
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13
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Brown AM, White JJ, van der Heijden ME, Zhou J, Lin T, Sillitoe RV. Purkinje cell misfiring generates high-amplitude action tremors that are corrected by cerebellar deep brain stimulation. eLife 2020; 9:e51928. [PMID: 32180549 PMCID: PMC7077982 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Tremor is currently ranked as the most common movement disorder. The brain regions and neural signals that initiate the debilitating shakiness of different body parts remain unclear. Here, we found that genetically silencing cerebellar Purkinje cell output blocked tremor in mice that were given the tremorgenic drug harmaline. We show in awake behaving mice that the onset of tremor is coincident with rhythmic Purkinje cell firing, which alters the activity of their target cerebellar nuclei cells. We mimic the tremorgenic action of the drug with optogenetics and present evidence that highly patterned Purkinje cell activity drives a powerful tremor in otherwise normal mice. Modulating the altered activity with deep brain stimulation directed to the Purkinje cell output in the cerebellar nuclei reduced tremor in freely moving mice. Together, the data implicate Purkinje cell connectivity as a neural substrate for tremor and a gateway for signals that mediate the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Brown
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Joshua J White
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Meike E van der Heijden
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Joy Zhou
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Tao Lin
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
| | - Roy V Sillitoe
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's HospitalHoustonUnited States
- Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics Graduate Program, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
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14
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Sathyanesan A, Zhou J, Scafidi J, Heck DH, Sillitoe RV, Gallo V. Emerging connections between cerebellar development, behaviour and complex brain disorders. Nat Rev Neurosci 2019; 20:298-313. [PMID: 30923348 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0152-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The human cerebellum has a protracted developmental timeline compared with the neocortex, expanding the window of vulnerability to neurological disorders. As the cerebellum is critical for motor behaviour, it is not surprising that most neurodevelopmental disorders share motor deficits as a common sequela. However, evidence gathered since the late 1980s suggests that the cerebellum is involved in motor and non-motor function, including cognition and emotion. More recently, evidence indicates that major neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and Down syndrome have potential links to abnormal cerebellar development. Out of recent findings from clinical and preclinical studies, the concept of the 'cerebellar connectome' has emerged that can be used as a framework to link the role of cerebellar development to human behaviour, disease states and the design of better therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Sathyanesan
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Joy Zhou
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Joseph Scafidi
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA.,George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Detlef H Heck
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Roy V Sillitoe
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Vittorio Gallo
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA. .,George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
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15
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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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16
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Cheron J, Cheron G. Beta-gamma burst stimulations of the inferior olive induce high-frequency oscillations in the deep cerebellar nuclei. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2879-2889. [PMID: 29460990 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2017] [Revised: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The cerebellum displays various sorts of rhythmic activities covering both low- and high-frequency oscillations. These cerebellar high-frequency oscillations were observed in the cerebellar cortex. Here, we hypothesised that not only is the cerebellar cortex a generator of high-frequency oscillations but also that the deep cerebellar nuclei may also play a similar role. Thus, we analysed local field potentials and single-unit activities in the deep cerebellar nuclei before, during and after electric stimulation in the inferior olive of awake mice. A high-frequency oscillation of 350 Hz triggered by the stimulation of the inferior olive, within the beta-gamma range, was observed in the deep cerebellar nuclei. The amplitude and frequency of the oscillation were independent of the frequency of stimulation. This oscillation emerged during the period of stimulation and persisted after the end of the stimulation. The oscillation coincided with the inhibition of deep cerebellar neurons. As the inhibition of the deep cerebellar nuclei is related to inhibitory inputs from Purkinje cells, we speculate that the oscillation represents the unmasking of the synchronous activation of another subtype of deep cerebellar neuronal subtype, devoid of GABA receptors and under the direct control of the climbing fibres from the inferior olive. Still, the mechanism sustaining this oscillation remains to be deciphered. Our study sheds new light on the role of the olivo-cerebellar loop as the final output control of the intercerebellar circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Cheron
- Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Université de Mons, Mons, Belgium.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Movement Biomechanics, Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium
| | - Guy Cheron
- Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Université de Mons, Mons, Belgium.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Movement Biomechanics, Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium
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17
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Benagiano V, Rizzi A, Lorusso L, Flace P, Saccia M, Cagiano R, Ribatti D, Roncali L, Ambrosi G. The functional anatomy of the cerebrocerebellar circuit: A review and new concepts. J Comp Neurol 2017; 526:769-789. [PMID: 29238972 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The cerebrocerebellar circuit is a feedback circuit that bidirectionally connects the neocortex and the cerebellum. According to the classic view, the cerebrocerebellar circuit is specifically involved in the functional regulation of the motor areas of the neocortex. In recent years, studies carried out in experimental animals by morphological and physiological methods, and in humans by magnetic resonance imaging, have indicated that the cerebrocerebellar circuit is also involved in the functional regulation of the nonmotor areas of the neocortex, including the prefrontal, associative, sensory and limbic areas. Moreover, a second type of cerebrocerebellar circuit, bidirectionally connecting the hypothalamus and the cerebellum, has been detected, being specifically involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic functions. This review analyzes the morphological features of the centers and pathways of the cerebrocerebellar circuits, paying particular attention to their organization in different channels, which separately connect the cerebellum with the motor areas and nonmotor areas of the neocortex, and with the hypothalamus. Actually, a considerable amount of new data have led, and are leading, to profound changes on the views on the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the cerebrocerebellar circuits, so much they may be now considered to be essential for the functional regulation of many neocortex areas, perhaps all, as well as of the hypothalamus and of the limbic system. Accordingly, clinical studies have pointed out an involvement of the cerebrocerebellar circuits in the pathophysiology of an increasing number of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Benagiano
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Anna Rizzi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Loredana Lorusso
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Paolo Flace
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Matteo Saccia
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Raffaele Cagiano
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Ribatti
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.,National Cancer Institute 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy
| | - Luisa Roncali
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Glauco Ambrosi
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
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18
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Schaefer SM, Vives Rodriguez A, Louis ED. Brain circuits and neurochemical systems in essential tremor: insights into current and future pharmacotherapeutic approaches. Expert Rev Neurother 2017; 18:101-110. [PMID: 29206482 DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2018.1413353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There are few medications that are available for the treatment of essential tremor (ET) and they are only moderately effective. Areas covered: Data were obtained from a PubMed search. Original articles, review articles, and clinical guidelines were included. Two disease models for ET have been proposed: 1) the olivary model, which attributes ET to a pathological pacemaker in the inferior olivary nucleus, and 2) the cerebellar degeneration model, which postulates that ET originates in the cerebellum and could be related to deficient or abnormal Purkinje cell (PC) output. Underlying biochemical dysfunction in T-type calcium channels (T-tCaC) may loosely be linked to the first model and deficiency/abnormality in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission, to the second. Expert commentary: Human data points robustly to the role of GABA in ET. Numerous medications that target the GABA system have been tried, with variable success. Given the many different types of GABA-ergic neurons, and the multitude of GABAA receptor subtypes, a given medication could have competing/cancelling effects. It would seem that influencing GABA receptors broadly is not as effective as targeting certain GABAA receptor subtypes. Future research should seek to identify molecular candidates that have a more targeted effect within the GABA system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Schaefer
- a Department of Neurology , Yale School of Medicine, Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA
| | - Ana Vives Rodriguez
- a Department of Neurology , Yale School of Medicine, Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA
| | - Elan D Louis
- a Department of Neurology , Yale School of Medicine, Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA.,b Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology , Yale School of Public Health, Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA.,c Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Yale School of Medicine , Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA
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19
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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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20
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Najac M, Raman IM. Synaptic excitation by climbing fibre collaterals in the cerebellar nuclei of juvenile and adult mice. J Physiol 2017; 595:6703-6718. [PMID: 28795396 PMCID: PMC5663862 DOI: 10.1113/jp274598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS The inferior olive sends instructive motor signals to the cerebellum via the climbing fibre projection, which sends collaterals directly to large premotor neurons of the mouse cerebellar nuclei (CbN cells). Optogenetic activation of inferior olivary axons in vitro evokes EPSCs in CbN cells of several hundred pA to more than 1 nA. The inputs are three-fold larger at younger ages, 12 to 14 days old, than at 2 months old, suggesting a strong functional role for this pathway earlier in development. The EPSCs are multipeaked, owing to burst firing in several olivary afferents that fire asynchronously. The convergence of climbing fibre collaterals onto CbN cells decreases from ∼40 to ∼8, which is consistent with the formation of closed-loop circuits in which each CbN neuron receives input from 4-7 collaterals from inferior olivary neurons as well as from all 30-50 Purkinje cells that are innervated by those olivary neurons. ABSTRACT The inferior olive conveys instructive signals to the cerebellum that drive sensorimotor learning. Inferior olivary neurons transmit their signals via climbing fibres, which powerfully excite Purkinje cells, evoking complex spikes and depressing parallel fibre synapses. Additionally, however, these climbing fibres send collaterals to the cerebellar nuclei (CbN). In vivo and in vitro data suggest that climbing fibre collateral excitation is weak in adult mice, raising the question of whether the primary role of this pathway may be developmental. We therefore examined climbing fibre collateral input to large premotor CbN cells over development by virally expressing channelrhodopsin in the inferior olive. In acute cerebellar slices from postnatal day (P)12-14 mice, light-evoked EPSCs were large (> 1 nA at -70 mV). The amplitude of these EPSCs decreased over development, reaching a plateau of ∼350 pA at P20-60. Trains of EPSCs (5 Hz) depressed strongly throughout development, whereas convergence estimates indicated that the total number of functional afferents decreased with age. EPSC waveforms consisted of multiple peaks, probably resulting from action potential bursts in single collaterals and variable times to spike threshold in converging afferents. Activating climbing fibre collaterals evoked well-timed increases in firing probability in CbN neurons, especially in younger mice. The initially strong input, followed by the decrement in synaptic strength coinciding with the pruning of climbing fibres in the cerebellar cortex, implicates the climbing fibre collateral pathway in early postnatal development. Additionally, the persistence of substantial synaptic input at least to P60 suggests that this pathway may function in cerebellar processing into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Najac
- Department of NeurobiologyNorthwestern UniversityEvanstonILUSA
| | - Indira M. Raman
- Department of NeurobiologyNorthwestern UniversityEvanstonILUSA
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21
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Kros L, Lindeman S, Eelkman Rooda OHJ, Murugesan P, Bina L, Bosman LWJ, De Zeeuw CI, Hoebeek FE. Synchronicity and Rhythmicity of Purkinje Cell Firing during Generalized Spike-and-Wave Discharges in a Natural Mouse Model of Absence Epilepsy. Front Cell Neurosci 2017; 11:346. [PMID: 29163057 PMCID: PMC5671558 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Absence epilepsy is characterized by the occurrence of generalized spike and wave discharges (GSWDs) in electrocorticographical (ECoG) recordings representing oscillatory activity in thalamocortical networks. The oscillatory nature of GSWDs has been shown to be reflected in the simple spike activity of cerebellar Purkinje cells and in the activity of their target neurons in the cerebellar nuclei, but it is unclear to what extent complex spike activity is implicated in generalized epilepsy. Purkinje cell complex spike firing is elicited by climbing fiber activation and reflects action potential firing in the inferior olive. Here, we investigated to what extent modulation of complex spike firing is reflected in the temporal patterns of seizures. Extracellular single-unit recordings in awake, head-restrained homozygous tottering mice, which suffer from a mutation in the voltage-gated CaV2.1 calcium channel, revealed that a substantial proportion of Purkinje cells (26%) showed increased complex spike activity and rhythmicity during GSWDs. Moreover, Purkinje cells, recorded either electrophysiologically or by using Ca2+-imaging, showed a significant increase in complex spike synchronicity for both adjacent and remote Purkinje cells during ictal events. These seizure-related changes in firing frequency, rhythmicity and synchronicity were most prominent in the lateral cerebellum, a region known to receive cerebral input via the inferior olive. These data indicate profound and widespread changes in olivary firing that are most likely induced by seizure-related activity changes in the thalamocortical network, thereby highlighting the possibility that olivary neurons can compensate for pathological brain-state changes by dampening oscillations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lieke Kros
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sander Lindeman
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Oscar H J Eelkman Rooda
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Neurosurgery, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Lorenzo Bina
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Chris I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Dutch Academy for Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Freek E Hoebeek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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22
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The Roles of the Olivocerebellar Pathway in Motor Learning and Motor Control. A Consensus Paper. THE CEREBELLUM 2017; 16:230-252. [PMID: 27193702 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-016-0787-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
For many decades, the predominant view in the cerebellar field has been that the olivocerebellar system's primary function is to induce plasticity in the cerebellar cortex, specifically, at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse. However, it has also long been proposed that the olivocerebellar system participates directly in motor control by helping to shape ongoing motor commands being issued by the cerebellum. Evidence consistent with both hypotheses exists; however, they are often investigated as mutually exclusive alternatives. In contrast, here, we take the perspective that the olivocerebellar system can contribute to both the motor learning and motor control functions of the cerebellum and might also play a role in development. We then consider the potential problems and benefits of it having multiple functions. Moreover, we discuss how its distinctive characteristics (e.g., low firing rates, synchronization, and variable complex spike waveforms) make it more or less suitable for one or the other of these functions, and why having multiple functions makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. We did not attempt to reach a consensus on the specific role(s) the olivocerebellar system plays in different types of movements, as that will ultimately be determined experimentally; however, collectively, the various contributions highlight the flexibility of the olivocerebellar system, and thereby suggest that it has the potential to act in both the motor learning and motor control functions of the cerebellum.
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23
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Yarden-Rabinowitz Y, Yarom Y. In vivo analysis of synaptic activity in cerebellar nuclei neurons unravels the efficacy of excitatory inputs. J Physiol 2017; 595:5945-5963. [PMID: 28618000 DOI: 10.1113/jp274115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS Cerebellar nuclei (CN) neurons can be classified into four groups according to their action potential (AP) waveform, corresponding to four types of neurons previously characterized. Half of the APs are generated by excitatory events, suggesting that excitatory inputs play a key role in generating CN outputs. Analysis of post-synaptic potentials reveals that the probability of excitatory inputs generating an AP is 0.1. The input from climbing fibre collaterals is characterized by a pair of synaptic potentials with a distinct interpair interval of 4.5 ms. The probability of climbing fibre collaterals initiating an AP in CN neurons is 0.15. ABSTRACT It is commonly agreed that the main function of the cerebellar system is to provide well-timed signals used for the execution of motor commands or prediction of sensory inputs. This function is manifested as a temporal sequence of spiking that should be expressed in the cerebellar nuclei (CN) projection neurons. Whether spiking activity is generated by excitation or release from inhibition is still a hotly debated issue. In an attempt to resolve this debate, we recorded intracellularly from CN neurons in anaesthetized mice and performed an analysis of synaptic activity that yielded a number of important observations. First, we demonstrate that CN neurons can be classified into four groups. Second, shape-index plots of the excitatory events suggest that they are distributed over the entire dendritic tree. Third, the rise time of excitatory events is linearly related to amplitude, suggesting that all excitatory events contribute equally to the generation of action potentials (APs). Fourth, we identified a temporal pattern of spontaneous excitatory events that represent climbing fibre inputs and confirm the results by direct stimulation and analysis on harmaline-evoked activity. Finally, we demonstrate that the probability of excitatory inputs generating an AP is 0.1 yet half of the APs are generated by excitatory events. Moreover, the probability of a presumably spontaneous climbing fibre input generating an AP is higher, reaching a mean population value of 0.15. In view of these results, the mode of synaptic integration at the level of the CN should be re-considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin Yarden-Rabinowitz
- Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yosef Yarom
- Department of Neurobiology, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
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White JJ, Sillitoe RV. Genetic silencing of olivocerebellar synapses causes dystonia-like behaviour in mice. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14912. [PMID: 28374839 PMCID: PMC5382291 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Theories of cerebellar function place the inferior olive to cerebellum connection at the centre of motor behaviour. One possible implication of this is that disruption of olivocerebellar signalling could play a major role in initiating motor disease. To test this, we devised a mouse genetics approach to silence glutamatergic signalling only at olivocerebellar synapses. The resulting mice had a severe neurological condition that mimicked the early-onset twisting, stiff limbs and tremor that is observed in dystonia, a debilitating movement disease. By blocking olivocerebellar excitatory neurotransmission, we eliminated Purkinje cell complex spikes and induced aberrant cerebellar nuclear activity. Pharmacologically inhibiting the erratic output of the cerebellar nuclei in the mutant mice improved movement. Furthermore, deep brain stimulation directed to the interposed cerebellar nuclei reduced dystonia-like postures in these mice. Collectively, our data uncover a neural mechanism by which olivocerebellar dysfunction promotes motor disease phenotypes and identify the cerebellar nuclei as a therapeutic target for surgical intervention. Dystonia is thought to be driven by impairments in cerebellar signalling. The authors use a mouse genetic approach to silence excitatory transmission in the inferior olive to cerebellum pathway, resulting in dystonia-like signs in the animals which can be alleviated using DBS stimulation of the pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J White
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's Hospital, 1250 Moursund Street, Suite 1325, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Roy V Sillitoe
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of Texas Children's Hospital, 1250 Moursund Street, Suite 1325, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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