Article abstract

Nature Neuroscience 11, 1185 - 1192 (2008)
Published online: 21 September 2008 | Corrected online: 15 January 2009 | Corrected online: 30 April 2009 | doi:10.1038/nn.2197



There is a Corrigendum (June 2009) associated with this Article.

Links from complex spikes to local plasticity and motor learning in the cerebellum of awake-behaving monkeys

Javier F Medina1 & Stephen G Lisberger2

The hypothesis of cerebellar learning proposes that complex spikes in Purkinje cells engage mechanisms of plasticity in the cerebellar cortex; in turn, changes in the cerebellum depress the simple-spike response of Purkinje cells to a given stimulus and cause the adaptive modification of a motor behavior. Many elements of this hypothesis have been supported by prior experiments, and correlations have been found between complex spikes, simple-spike plasticity and behavior during the learning process. We carried out a trial-by-trial analysis of Purkinje cell responses in awake-behaving monkeys and found evidence for a causal role for complex spikes in the induction of cerebellar plasticity during a simple motor learning task. We found that the presence of a complex spike on one learning trial was linked to a substantial depression of simple-spike responses on the subsequent trial, at a time when behavioral learning was expressed.

Top
  1. Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, W. M. Keck Foundation Center for Integrative Neuroscience, and Department of Physiology, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.

Correspondence to: Stephen G Lisberger2 e-mail: sgl@phy.ucsf.edu

* In the version of this article initially published, two citations were inadvertently omitted. To correct this, the following two sentences were added to the second paragraph of the introduction, following the sixth sentence. "One line of work has supported the theory by demonstrating that arm movement errors evoke complex spikes51,52 and that subsequent learned changes in motor behavior are associated with suitable changes in simple spike responses51. This work demonstrates a strong correlation, but stops short of showing cause-and-effect links between individual complex spikes, changes in simple spikes and behavioral learning." Two references were also added to the reference list as follows: "51. Gilbert, P.F. & Thach W.T. Purkinje cell activity during motor learning. Brain Res. 128, 309–328 (1977). 52. Ojakangas C.L & Ebner T.J. Purkinje cell complex and simple spike changes during a voluntary arm movement learning task in the monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 68, 2222–2236 (1992)." The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.The second sentence of the abstract should read "Many elements of this hypothesis have been supported by prior experiments, and correlations have been found between complex spikes, simple-spike plasticity and behavior during the learning process."

** The second sentence of the abstract should read "Many elements of this hypothesis have been supported by prior experiments, and correlations have been found between complex spikes, simple-spike plasticity and behavior during the learning process."

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Low rates yield big returns

Nature Neuroscience News and Views (01 May 1998)

Neurophysiology: Unanaesthetized Cerebellum

Nature News and Views (15 Feb 1969)

See all 3 matches for News And Views

RESEARCH

Elimination of climbing fiber instructive signals during motor learning

Nature Neuroscience Article (01 Sep 2009)

Synaptic inhibition of Purkinje cells mediates consolidation of vestibulo-cerebellar motor learning

Nature Neuroscience Article (01 Aug 2009)

See all 62 matches for Research

Extra navigation

Subscribe to Nature Neuroscience

Subscribe

Search PubMed for

Open Innovation Challenges

  • Optimizing Sub-cellular Localization Tags

    • Deadline: Jan 31 2010
    • Reward: $20,000 USD

    The Seeker is looking for methods to optimize sub-cellular localization tags for protein expression....

  • Single-cell Analysis Platform

    • Deadline: Dec 02 2009
    • Reward: $5,000 USD

    This Challenge is looking for novel approaches to analyzing changes at a single-cell level. This is...

naturejobs

More science jobs
Post a job for free

ADVERTISEMENT