A role for the cerebellum in the control of limb movement velocity

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Abstract

Accepting, rejecting or modifying the many different theories of the cerebellum's role in the control of movement requires an understanding of the signals encoded in the discharge of cerebellar neurons and how those signals are transformed by the cerebellar circuitry. Particularly challenging is understanding the sensory and motor signals carried by the two types of action potentials generated by cerebellar Purkinje cells, the simple spikes and complex spikes. Advances have been made in understanding this signal processing in the context of voluntary arm movements. Recent evidence suggests that mossy fiber afferents to the cerebellar cortex are a source of kinematic signals, providing information about movement direction and speed. In turn, the simple spike discharge of Purkinje cells integrates this mossy fiber information to generate a movement velocity signal. Complex spikes may signal errors in movement velocity. It is proposed that the cerebellum uses the signals carried by the simple and complex spike discharges to control movement velocity for both step and tracking arm movements.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)762-769
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent opinion in neurobiology
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1998

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
‘The studies from my laboratory cited in this manuscript were supported by National Institutes of Health grant NS-18338. I also wish to thank Linda King for typing the manuscript.

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