Structured Variability in Purkinje Cell Activity during Locomotion
Abstract
The cerebellum is a prominent vertebrate brain structure that is critically involved in sensorimotor function. During locomotion, cerebellar Purkinje cells are rhythmically active, shaping descending signals and coordinating commands from higher brain areas with the step cycle. However, the variation in this activity across steps has not been studied, and its statistical structure, afferent mechanisms, and relationship to behavior remain unknown. Here, using multi-electrode recordings in freely moving rats, we show that behavioral variables systematically influence the shape of the step-locked firing rate. This effect depends strongly on the phase of the step cycle and reveals a functional clustering of Purkinje cells. Furthermore, we find a pronounced disassociation between patterns of variability driven by the parallel and climbing fibers. These results suggest that Purkinje cell activity not only represents step phase within each cycle but also is shaped by behavior across steps, facilitating control of movement under dynamic conditions.
Additional Information
© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Received: March 12, 2015; Revised: June 19, 2015; Accepted: August 3, 2015; Published: August 19, 2015. We thank Michael Dickinson, Gilles Laurent, and Andreas Tolias for comments on the manuscript; Maria Papadopoulou for advice on histology; Kevin Shan for development of the IMU; and the members of the Siapas lab for valuable discussions. This work was supported by the Moore Foundation, the Mathers Foundation, NIH 1DP1OD008255/5DP1MH099907, and NSF IOS-1146871.Attached Files
Accepted Version - nihms714083.pdf
Supplemental Material - mmc1.pdf
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Additional details
- PMCID
- PMC4708059
- Eprint ID
- 59959
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.08.003
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20150828-123858766
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Mathers Foundation
- NIH
- 1DP1OD008255/5DP1MH099907
- NSF
- IOS-1146871
- Created
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2015-08-31Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2022-05-24Created from EPrint's last_modified field