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Mechanisms underlying vestibulo‐cerebellar motor learning in mice depend on movement direction
Author(s) -
Voges Kai,
Wu Bin,
Post Laura,
Schonewille Martijn,
Zeeuw Chris I.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jp274346
Subject(s) - neuroscience , vestibulo–ocular reflex , eye movement , vestibular system , reflex , cerebellum , psychology , motor learning , purkinje cell , stimulation , flocculus , vestibular nuclei , saccadic masking
Key points Directionality, inherent to movements, has behavioural and neuronal correlates. Direction of vestibular stimulation determines motor learning efficiency. Vestibulo‐ocular reflex gain–increase correlates with Purkinje cell simple spike potentiation. The locus of neural correlates for vestibulo‐ocular reflex adaptation is paradigm specific.Abstract Compensatory eye movements elicited by head rotation, also known as vestibulo‐ocular reflex (VOR), can be adapted with the use of visual feedback. The cerebellum is essential for this type of movement adaptation, although its neuronal correlates remain to be clarified. In the present study, we show that the direction of vestibular input determines the magnitude of eye movement adaptation induced by mismatched visual input in mice, with larger changes during contraversive head rotation. Moreover, the location of the neural correlate of this changed behaviour depends on the type of paradigm. Gain–increase paradigms induce increased simple spike (SS) activity in ipsilateral cerebellar Purkinje cells (PC), which is in line with eye movements triggered by optogenetic PC activation. By contrast, gain–decrease paradigms do not induce changes in SS activity, indicating that the murine vestibulo‐cerebellar cortical circuitry is optimally designed to enhance ipsiversive eye movements.