Cerebellum

…roles in learned motor control: the cerebellum (CB), primary motor cortex (M1), and associative sensorimotor cortex (ASC). We both leverage

…the roles of the basal ganglia and cerebellum, addressing limitations of current models in complex motor control tasks. We introduce a decomposition of the value function where the RL component optimizes the mean expected value while the cerebellar module minimizes deviations from optimal latent trajectories. This decomposition approximates a normative information-theoretic objective where the

…via reinforcement learning, while the cerebellum (CB) supports EBL via supervised learning. In doing so, we introduce a novel learning framework that combines DA-driven RBL with CB-driven EBL. Specifically, we reformulate the traditional RBL and EBL synaptic weight updates in terms of a shared ‘action-gradient’ spac

…and synaptic functions, we used acute cerebellum brain slices recorded from wild-type (WT) and Grin2d mice. We recorded neuronal activity from Purkinje neuro

The cerebellum is a multifunctional brain region, controlling various motor and non-motor behaviors. Alterations in its architecture/function contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders. In Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) disease, a lysosomal lipid accumulation disorder, cerebellar granule cells (GCs) proliferation and migration are impaired, due to reduced levels of Shh and BDNF during early postnatal development, affecting cerebellar cytoarchitecture.Since GCs complete their differentiation in early postnatal life driven by BDNF signaling, establishing synaptic con

Although cerebellum has traditionally been considered a motor control structure, a growing body of evidence highlights its crucial role among the neural networks that subserve emotionally related behaviors. In fact, anatomical studies in rodents and functional connectivity MRI studies in humans have shown that extensive interconnections exist between the cerebellum and structures of the emotional control network, including medial prefrontal (mPFC) and parietal cortices, hippocampus, amygdala and periaqueductal gray. Accordingly, accumulating evidence supports a critical role of the cerebellum

The cerebellum is critical for locomotor coordination, but it is still not well understood how locomotor signals are represented within the cerebellum to enable whole-body coordination. In particular, while cerebellar Purkinje cell activity is strongly modulated by the locomotor stride cycle, it is not clear how that activity is constructed from its afferent inputs, nor how it can be used for real-time control. To investigate these questions, we are recording cerebellar population activity with Neuropixels probes during locomotion in head-fixed mice, combined with high-speed 3D tracking of lim

The cerebellum, a long-studied brain structure, has recently experienced significant advances in our understanding of its functions in many processes. Although its influence on emotions is still being studied, the cerebellum has been found to influence emotional control. This has important implications for understanding emotional disorders and neuropsychiatric conditions, contributing to a broader understanding of brain function in emotions.Our project consists of developing a bottom-up model, addressing the microscale, mesoscale, and large scale. This approach seeks to capture the structure,

…A prominent theory suggests that the cerebellum utilizes forward models to compare perceived sensory stimuli (perceived reafference) with predictions based on past experiences (expected reafference), quickly adjusting motor programs to environmental changes. Utilizing a new mouse behavioral paradigm involving sensorimotor perturbations in a simple joystick pulling task, we can decipher the role of the cerebellum in rapid motor adaptation. Previous results revealed parasagittal bands

…errors, fundamentally depends on the cerebellum. The olivary climbing fiber (CF) input to cerebellar Purkinje cells (PC) acts as a “teacher” signal during motor learning and drives cerebellar plasticity. Although the CF input reliably evokes PC dendritic spikes, it is not the only signal that modulates this post-synaptic response. To disentangle the modulation of the pre-synaptic CF burst from that of its post-synaptic PC dendritic response, we simultaneously imaged PC dendrites and CF terminals with 2-photon mic

The cerebellum has a well-established role in fine motor control and motor learning. In the cerebellar cortex, the first stage of information processing takes places at synapses between mossy fiber (MF) and cerebellar granule cell (GC) synapses, where synaptic transmission occurs at ultra-high frequencies (up to kHz). MF presynaptic machinery is capable of releasing glutamate at such extreme frequencies but the molecular determinants and ultrastructural organization underlying this presynaptic efficiency have yet to be elucidated. In several synapse types, the actin cytoskeleton, which is dyna

Posture is crucial to executing motor functions and its perturbation leads to various strategies to regain preferred postures. The vestibular system plays a vital role in responding to movement-related cues to maintain preferred directions. Previous work has introduced a miniaturised, rotating, light-sheet microscope for brain-wide neuronal recordings during controlled vestibular stimulation in head-restrained zebrafish larvae to study whole-brain circuits. In this study, we present significant enhancements to such a setup to enable precise rotational movements along arbitrary axes between rol

The aim of this study was to investigate whether grey matter densities (GMD) in the brain associate with speech disfluency in 120 (65M, 55F) 5-year-old children. Speech disfluency, which was quantified via audio recordings, was measured as a continuous variable, covering a broad spectrum of disfluencies observed in a sample of children participating in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of the whole brain was utilised to examine the associations between GMD and speech disfluency. We found negative associations between

Maternal prenatal distress is an important contributor to child neurodevelopmental trajectories but relatively few studies have explored the effect of distress exposure longitudinally across the perinatal period. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between exposure to pre- and postnatal maternal distress and child brain development in 5-year-olds. Mother-child dyads (n=173) were recruited from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study. Maternal distress was quantified with composite scores of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the anxiety subscale of the Symptom Check

MRD57 (or autosomal dominant 57) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder linked to genetic mutations in the serine/threonine kinase, TLK2. MRD57 is characterised by TLK2 haploinsufficiency and in some cases, its loss or impaired kinase function. TLK2 is an established cell cycle regulator, and in contrast to MRD57, cancers upregulate TLK2 activity to drive tumour growth. MRD57 patients have a range of clinical phenotypes including delayed psychomotor development, language delay, hypotonia, gastrointestinal issues, dysmorphic facial features and global developmental delay. However, the neuronal f

…MSC-EVs reduced neuroinflammation in cerebellum and restored motor coordi

…lines of research have implicated the cerebellum in both explicit and implicit interval timing, but whether this reflects one shared or two contex

…to send divergent projections to the cerebellum, a key motor control region. Our recent studies on corticocerebellar projections revealed unique pathways for auditory stimuli, highlighting structural and functional distinctions in auditory fields linked to locomotion. Our exploration o

The cerebellum is classically associated with coordination and motor learning. Yet, a growing body of evidence now indicates that the cerebellum also contributes to cognitive aspects including social behavior and navigation skills. Although monoamines such as noradrenaline (NE) and dopamine (DA) are key neuromodulators implicated in these cognitive functions, the modus operandi of monoaminergic systems and their relevance to cerebellar functioning remains poorly understood. Interestingly, we found that while in this brain region monoaminergic innervations are sparse, the main vesicular transpo

The cerebellum plays a key role in motor learning, adapting movements in response to perturbations or errors. For simple tasks like eyeblink classical conditioning, climbing fibers originating in the inferior olive and projecting to the cerebellum provide neural instructive signals sufficient to drive learning. For complex whole-body behaviors like locomotion, however, it is not known what role climbing fibers play. We recently demonstrated (Darmohray et al., 2019) that mice running on a split-belt treadmill (that controls the speed under each side of the body independently) exhibit a form of

The cerebellum is a brain structure that has been studied for many years, but its anatomy and physiology are still widely debated. While the importance of the cerebellum has been demonstrated in the motor domain, mainly through neuroimaging studies, its involvement in cognitive functions remains a matter of debate. In this project, we carried out a lesion study on children operated for cerebellar tumors. Cerebellar tumors are the most common brain tumors in children and lead to heterogeneous post-operative motor and cognitive deficits, ranging from minor deficits to major ones drastically affe

…focused on the hippocampus and the cerebellum,two structures with protracted development.We found that microglial development occurs in

…hand, recent data showed that the cerebellum actually contributes to cognitive, emotional, and perceptual brain functions. Finally, both oxytocin and its receptors are present in the cerebellum, but this system remains poorly characterized.Here, we studied the effects of oxytocin-receptor (OXTR) activation on Purkinje cell activity in vitro an

The cerebellum critically contributes to motor, cognitive and emotional functions. Cerebellum-dependent motor learning is believed to be processed within the cerebellar cortex, and specifically via changes in synaptic plasticity of Purkinje cells (PCs), which are the main cortical output. However, whether and how motor learning can influence the actual connectivity of PCs is unknown. To address this question, we use a rabies virus (RABV)-based approach to map structural modifications of PC presynaptic inputs in young (3-month-old) and middle-aged mice (1-year-old). To promote motor skill learn