Motor Learning and Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum

Motor Learning and Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum PDF Author: Paul J. Cordo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521597050
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 78

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is concerned with the involvement of the cerebellum in learning and remembering motor tasks. It is unique in discussing plasticity at both the cellular and at the behavioral level.

Motor Learning and Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum

Motor Learning and Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum PDF Author: Paul J. Cordo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521597050
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 78

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is concerned with the involvement of the cerebellum in learning and remembering motor tasks. It is unique in discussing plasticity at both the cellular and at the behavioral level.

The Cerebellum

The Cerebellum PDF Author: Dianne M. Broussard
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118125630
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Cerebellum provides a concise, accessible overview of modern data on physiology and function of the cerebellum as it relates to learning, plasticity, and neurodegenerative diseases. Encompassing anatomy and physiology, theoretical work, cellular mechanisms, clinical research, and disorders, the book covers learning and plasticity while introducing the anatomy of the cerebellum. Known and proposed "functions of the cerebellum" are addressed on clinical, physiological, cellular, and computational levels, providing academics, researchers, medical students, and graduate students with an invaluable reference.

Cerebellar Learning

Cerebellar Learning PDF Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0444634266
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book Here

Book Description
Progress in Brain Research is the most acclaimed and accomplished series in neuroscience, firmly established as an extensive documentation of the advances in contemporary brain research. The volumes, some of which are derived from important international symposia, contain authoritative reviews and original articles by invited specialists. The rigorous editing of the volumes assures that they will appeal to all laboratory and clinical brain research workers in the various disciplines: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroendocrinology, neuropathology, basic neurology, biological psychiatry, and the behavioral sciences. This volume, The Cerebellum and Memory Formation: Structure, Computation and Function, covers topics including feedback control of cerebellar learning; cortico-cerebellar organization and skill acquisition; cerebellar plasticity and learning in the oculomotor system, and more. Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation, and provide their views and perspectives for future research The volume reflects current thinking about the ways in which the cerebellum can engage in learning, and the contributors come from a variety of research fields The chapters express perspectives from different levels of analysis that range from molecular and cellular mechanisms through to long-range systems that allow the cerebellum to communicate with other brain areas

Structural Correlates of Motor Learning

Structural Correlates of Motor Learning PDF Author: Richard Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
"The cerebellum is known to support motor learning – however, the synaptic substrates of learning are a subject of controversy. A previously well-established model of motor learning suggested that long-term depression at parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cell synapses supports motor learning; however how this model works has recently been brought into question. In order to determine what form of plasticity is induced at synapses in the cerebellum during learning, we established and adapted a form of cerebellum-dependent forelimb-reach learning in mice, followed by assessing structural plasticity in the relevant region of the cerebellum. Specifically, we used a sparse-labeling technique to assess the density of dendritic spines onto Purkinje cells, which are the sites of parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cell synapses. Our results demonstrate an inverse correlation between the amount of learning and Purkinje cell spine density, at the level of individual mice. Thus, we provide evidence that depression-like changes do indeed occur at parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cells synapses during motor learning. Moreover, the degree of such plasticity correlates with the amount of learning"--

Cerebellum and Neuronal Plasticity

Cerebellum and Neuronal Plasticity PDF Author: M. Glickstein
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461309654
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Get Book Here

Book Description


Neural Instructive Signals in the Cerebellum

Neural Instructive Signals in the Cerebellum PDF Author: Michael Chinwen Ke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
An understanding of the neural patterns available to guide plasticity in vivo is needed to bridge our knowledge of synaptic plasticity to its function in learning. I investigated the patterns of neural activity that trigger plasticity in vivo in a simple cerebellum-dependent motor learning task, adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), with the specific goal of determining which neurons carry the instructive signals that trigger plasticity in the circuit for the VOR. The VOR stabilizes images on the retina during head turns by using vestibular signals to generate compensatory smooth eye movements in the opposite direction of head motion. Motor learning maintains the accuracy of the VOR by modifying the gain and timing of the reflex whenever retinal image motion is persistently associated with head movements. In the laboratory, motor learning in the VOR can be acutely induced by pairing head movements with motion of a visual stimulus. Two specific hypotheses have been proposed regarding the neural signals that guide motor learning in the VOR. One suggests that learning is guided by the activity of Purkinje cells, the output neurons of the cerebellum[1]. The other hypothesis suggests that learning is guided by climbing fiber input to the Purkinje cells[2-4]. Previous experiments addressing which neurons carry instructive signals have typically used a single training condition for increasing VOR gain and a single training condition for decreasing VOR gain[5, 6]. These two training conditions each elicited Purkinje cell and climbing fiber signals that carried information about the required direction of learning, and since the patterns of neural activity were consistent with both hypotheses, data are needed to provide constraints that could discriminate between the hypotheses. The goal of my research is to provide such constraints by recording the patterns of neural activity present in Purkinje cells and climbing fibers during a broader range of visual-vestibular stimuli that induce motor learning in the VOR. I induced motor learning in the VOR by pairing head movements with complex visual stimuli. These novel behavioral manipulations elicited many different combinations of Purkinje cell and climbing fiber signals, allowing us to evaluate how each of these neural signals contributes to learning. My data demonstrated that neither instructive signals in the climbing fibers nor Purkinje cells are necessary for learning, although either signals appear to be sufficient to support learning. Additionally, the largest changes in VOR gain occurred when both signals were present, suggesting that the changes mediated by Purkinje cell-triggered mechanisms and climbing-fiber triggered mechanisms are additive in their effects at the behavioral level. These findings are evidence that motor learning in the VOR is accomplished by parallel and independent operation of climbing fiber-triggered and Purkinje cell-triggered plasticity mechanisms. If cerebellum dependent motor learning is supported by the parallel and independent operation of plasticity mechanisms, similar motor learning need not be accomplished in a stereotyped fashion, but rather similar motor learning can be achieved by engaging distinct subsets of plasticity mechanisms each under the control of a unique instructive signal.

The Acquisition of Motor Behavior in Vertebrates

The Acquisition of Motor Behavior in Vertebrates PDF Author: James R. Bloedel
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262024044
Category : Classical conditioning
Languages : en
Pages : 470

Get Book Here

Book Description
Our motor skills determine how well we perform in athletics, dance, music, and in carrying out countless daily chores. While our proficiency at performing individual actions and synthesizing them into seamless sequences limits our athletic and artistic talents, we are not perpetually bound by such limitations. The nervous system can acquire new, and modify old, motor behaviors through experience and practice. That is motor learning.The Acquisition of Motor Behavior in Vertebratesprovides a broad, multidisciplinary survey of recent research on the brain systems and mechanisms underlying motor learning. Following the editors' introduction, nineteen contributions report on the neurobiology of these higher brain functions and on diverse types of motor learning such as reflex adaptation, conditioned and instrumental reflex learning, visually guided actions, and complex sequences and skills.

Novel Regulators of Learning and Plasticity in Motor System Circuits

Novel Regulators of Learning and Plasticity in Motor System Circuits PDF Author: Eddy Albarran
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Motor learning is the process by which animals integrate sensorimotor information from the world in order to update future motor actions and improve desired outcomes. Neuroscience research in the past decades has identified brain structures and neuronal circuits involved in this process, and revealed that motor learning is a highly distributed process that involves precise spatiotemporal coordination and refinement throughout the corticobasal ganglia network. Reflecting this widespread involvement of brain circuitry, experimental approaches to study motor learning encompass a wide array of scope and techniques including in vivo electrical recordings or imaging, synaptic-level electrophysiology, genetic pathway analyses, and more. The work presented in this dissertation focuses on understanding two key activity-dependent mechanisms by which the synapses of circuits involved in motor control and motor learning change. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the motor learning field, with particular focus on the literature surrounding functional and structural synaptic plasticity of the synapses that I primarily focused on for my PhD work: (a) the synapses on neurons in primary motor cortex and (b) their projections into the striatum. In Chapter 2, I show that the stability of newly formed dendritic spines in motor cortex is the greatest predictor of motor learning, and that artificially increasing their stability in wildtype mice is sufficient to enhance the acquisition of motor skills. To do this, I studied PirB-/- mice and used chronic in vivo two-photon imaging of dendritic spine dynamics (in M1) while training mice on a reaching task. I showed that pharmacologically increasing the stability of newly formed spines in M1 (by selectively blocking PirB function genetically or with a decoy receptor) during training is sufficient to improve their learning of this task. In Chapter 3, I show that mice lacking all 3 isoforms of Synuclein (Syn-tKOs) exhibit an abolishment of endocannabinoid (eCB) plasticity in the striatum. Combining electrophysiological recordings with pharmacology and viral strategies, I dissected this synaptic phenotype and found that synucleins are required postsynaptically for eCB release, where activity-dependent membrane interaction of synucleins (likely with SNAREs) is needed for retrograde eCB signaling. In Chapter 4, I touch on conclusions and future directions based on this work. I place my findings in the context of the larger fields of motor learning and synaptic plasticity, and end with implications for promising translational therapeutic science.

Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Mouse Cerebellar Stellate Cells

Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Mouse Cerebellar Stellate Cells PDF Author: Lu Sun
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
The cerebellum is a brain structure essential for motor control and coordination, as well as motor learning and memory. The highly organized anatomy of the cerebellum makes it a good model for the study of network function. As the only output of the cerebellar cortex, Purkinje cells are considered as the cellular basis for certain types of motor learning. Purkinje cells receive excitatory synaptic inputs from parallel fibers and climbing fibers, and inhibitory inputs from GABAergic interneurons located at the molecular layer of the cerebellum. Since the activity of Purkinje cells is largely regulated by the synaptic integration, knowledge about cerebellar granule cells and interneurons is necessary for the understanding of the mechanism of motor learning and memory. Interneurons including stellate cells and basket cells obtain afferent excitatory inputs from parallel fibers and project inhibitory inputs onto Purkinje cells, and thus form a feed-forward inhibition network. The inhibition from the interneurons counteracts the excitatory effects from parallel fibers and prevents the Purkinje cells from being over excited. However, the synaptic plasticity of the interneurons remains elusive. Using stellate cell as a model, we investigated the function of glutamate receptors in the synaptic plasticity in interneurons and the consequent impact on the pattern of GABA release from interneuron axonal terminals, which directly determines the inhibition of Purkinje cells. We observed that the activation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors could induce a new form of synaptic plasticity at the parallel fiber-to-stellate cell synapse, including a subtype switch of AMPA receptors from naturally GluR2-lacking (Ca2+-permeable) to GluR2-containing (Ca2+-impermeable). This plasticity is probably postsynaptically induced and requires protein kinase C (PKC) and the activity of protein interacting with PRKCA 1 (PICK1). In addition, previous studies showed that the activation of NMDA receptors directly triggered a long-lasting potentiation of GABA release at axonal terminals. Our work about the characterization of NMDA receptors in stellate cells suggested the possible expression of NR2B and NR2D subunits. However, blockade of single subtype of NMDA receptors did not affect the basal level of GABA release. Changes in synaptic transmission would alter the excitability of a cell and therefore affect the action potential firing pattern. We explored if action potential firing would in return regulate the synaptic efficacy. We found that blockade of spontaneous action potentials (sAPs) in stellate cells induced an increased expression of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors at the parallel fiber-to-stellate cell synapse. This effect might be transcription-independent, but requires intact protein synthesis machinery. Moreover, inhibition of calmodulin mimicked the effect of sAP blockade, indicating the sAP blockade-induced GluR2 expression may be mediated by a reduced calmodulin activity. Our study revealed mechanisms underlying long-term plasticity of AMPAR subtype at the parallel fiber-to-stellate cell synapse, and the potential functional significance. Our findings would gain the insight into cerebellar interneuron functions and their contribution to motor learning and memory.

Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum of the Adult Rat Following Complex Motor Skill Acquisition

Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellum of the Adult Rat Following Complex Motor Skill Acquisition PDF Author: Jeffrey Allan Kleim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Get Book Here

Book Description