A Role for the Cerebellum in Learning Movement Coordination

@article{Thach1998ARF,
  title={A Role for the Cerebellum in Learning Movement Coordination},
  author={William Thomas Thach},
  journal={Neurobiology of Learning and Memory},
  year={1998},
  volume={70},
  pages={177-188}
}
  • W. T. Thach
  • Published 1 July 1998
  • Biology, Psychology
  • Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
We have examined several different paradigms of adaptation and of "acquisition of skill"-skill defined as a movement specialized to meet a certain goal and gained through practice. In each paradigm, change occurs through trial-and-error performance. In some of the tasks, damage of cerebellar cortex impairs adaptation and not performance. The deficits in performance cannot explain the deficits in adaptation. In some of the tasks, the discharge of Purkinje cells and, by inference, the discharge… 
View on Elsevier
doi.org
182 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
83
Methods Citations
1
Results Citations
4

182 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Differences in trace and delay visuomotor associative learning in cerebellar patients
TLDR
The lack of a better performance in the trace-condition compared to the delay-condition in cerebellar patients suggests deficits in learning the stimulus-response association.
Both Movement-End and Task-End Are Critical for Error Feedback in Visuomotor Adaptation: A Behavioral Experiment
TLDR
The results demonstrate that the brain efficiently accepts error information at both movement-end and task-end, suggesting that two different learning mechanisms may underlie visuomotor transformation.
What Features of Limb Movements are Encoded in the Discharge of Cerebellar Neurons?
TLDR
These results suggest that cerebellar neurons provide a complement of information about motor behaviors, and favor hypotheses that the cerebellum plans or controls movements in a kinematic framework, such as the proposal that the Cerebellum provides a forward internal model.
The cerebellum and visual perceptual learning: Evidence from a motion extrapolation task
The roles of the cerebellum and basal ganglia in timing and error prediction
TLDR
It is shown that the cerebellum is primarily activated with timing irregularity while the anterior striatum is activated with task order unpredictability, supporting their distinctive roles in two forms of readjustment.
Sensory-motor integration and synaptic plasticity in the cerebelar cortex
TLDR
An anatomical and physiological description of the cerebellum is described, which includes its division into lobes, the relationship with other areas of the Central Nervous System, and a detailed analysis of its internal circuits.
Localizing Sites for Plasticity in the Vestibular System
TLDR
An apparent step back toward more process-oriented models and interpretation may be required to make further progress in identifying sites for plasticity at the level of individual neurons in the VOR.
Ontogenetic and comparative aspects of cerebellar and motor development
TLDR
The ferret in many aspects is a particularly suitable animal model for the study of cerebellar mechanisms underlying motor development and how timescales of motor and Cerebellar morphological development can be translated between species with differently long developmental time periods, such as the ferret and rat.
Is the cerebellum ready for navigation?
The involvement of the human cerebellum in eyeblink conditioning
TLDR
Findings in humans show the importance of cortical areas of the ipsilateral superior cerebellum both in the acquisition and timing of conditioned eyeblink responses (CR) and of the cerebellar nuclei in extinction of CRs.
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 44 REFERENCES
On the specific role of the cerebellum in motor learning and cognition: Clues from PET activation and lesion studies in man
TLDR
The cerebellar output extends even to what has been characterized as the ultimate frontal planning area, the “prefrontal” cortex, area 46, and the cerebellum may be involved in context-response linkage, and response combination even at these higher levels.
The cerebellum and the adaptive coordination of movement.
TLDR
The adaptive role of the cerebellar cortex would appear to be specialized for combining simpler elements of movement into more complex synergies, and also in enabling simple, stereotyped reflex apparatus to respond differently, specifically, and appropriately under different task conditions.
Purkinje cell complex and simple spike changes during a voluntary arm movement learning task in the monkey.
1. To evaluate the role of the cerebellum during improvement of voluntary motor performance over time, the discharge of 88 Purkinje cells in the intermediate and lateral cerebellum of two primates…
On the cerebellum and motor learning
The neural basis for learning of simple motor skills.
TLDR
The vestibulo-ocular reflex is a simple movement that has been used to investigate the neural basis for motor learning in monkeys and similarities among the VOR and other motor systems suggest some organizing principles that may apply in many forms of motor learning.
The neural basis for motor learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex in monkeys
A Theory of Cerebellar Function
Cerebellar Output: Multiple Maps and Modes of Control in Movement Coordination
For the scientist, one of the chief goals in cerebellar research has been to find physiological meaning in the function of the anatomical circuitry. Ramon y Cajal, in providing many of the anatomical…
Purkinje cell activity during motor learning
Cerebellar cortex: its simulation and the relevance of Marr's theory.
  • T. Tyrrell, D. Willshaw
  • Biology
    Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
  • 1992
TLDR
A detailed explanation of MarR's theory based upon an analogy between Marr's cerebellar model and an abstract model called the associative net is presented and it is found that in general terms his conclusion that each Purkinje cell can learn to respond to a large number of different patterns of activity in the mossy fibres is substantially correct.
...
...