Cerebellar Representations of Errors and Internal Models

Streng, Martha L.; Popa, Laurentiu S.; Ebner, Timothy J.

doi:10.1007/s12311-022-01406-3

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Within the forward model of motor control framework, the cerebellum is considered to generate predictions for future movements 1,50,51 . Such computation thus requires IO neurons to compare the extracerebellar motor command and cerebellar prediction and to generate CSs when these two mismatches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway shapes cerebellar outputs for motor control

Wang,

Liu,

Angelov

et al. 2023

Nat Neurosci

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The brain generates predictive motor commands to control the spatiotemporal precision of high-velocity movements. Yet, how the brain organizes automated internal feedback to coordinate the kinematics of such fast movements is unclear. Here we unveil a unique nucleo-olivary loop in the cerebellum and its involvement in coordinating high-velocity movements. Activating the excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway induces well-timed internal feedback complex spike signals in Purkinje cells to shape cerebellar outputs. Anatomical tracing reveals extensive axonal collaterals from the excitatory nucleo-olivary neurons to downstream motor regions, supporting integration of motor output and internal feedback signals within the cerebellum. This pathway directly drives saccades and head movements with a converging direction, while curtailing their amplitude and velocity via the powerful internal feedback mechanism. Our finding challenges the long-standing dogma that the cerebellum inhibits the inferior olivary pathway and provides a new circuit mechanism for the cerebellar control of high-velocity movements.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway shapes cerebellar outputs for motor control

Wang,

Liu,

Angelov

et al. 2023

Nat Neurosci

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“…In this study, we focus on cerebellar error correction as a putative contributing cause of neurodevelopmental SPC difficulties. Error correction is the ability to adjust motor commands based on sensory feedback and to reduce the discrepancy between the intended and the actual outcome of an action (Streng, Popa, & Ebner, 2022). Error correction ability can be measured precisely using tests of motor synchronization, which is the ability to align one's movements with an external rhythmic stimulus (Repp, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mediating role of childhood motor skills on the association between error correction and social pragmatic communication in adulthood

Bang,

Pieslinger,

Igelström

2024

Preprint

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Early motor function is important for emerging social pragmatic communication (SPC) skills in both typical and atypical development. However, the nature of motor impairments relevant for higher-level communication is not well understood. Inefficient cerebellar error correction might directly cause both developmental coordination disorder (DCD) symptoms and SPC difficulties, through the extensive communication between cerebellar zones and brain-wide sensorimotor and higher-order networks. DCD symptoms related to cerebellar deficits could also impact SPC through affecting the developmental trajectory of social development, which requires motor skills. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that error correction deficits affect SPC outcomes through childhood DCD symptoms, by using contemporary causal inference methodology. We used a finger tapping task and computational modeling to measure cerebellar error correction in adult participants (n = 138), and quantified childhood DCD symptoms and SPC skills using psychometric measures. The results confirmed that error correction ability likely affects SPC skills, and indicated that childhood motor skills significantly mediated this. These results argue against a direct effect of domain-general error correction deficits on SPC, and instead suggest that cerebellum-related DCD symptoms affect sociocommunicative development more directly through motor deficits during development. Further research is required to test whether cerebellar error correction could be used as an early marker to identify children in need for early SPC interventions.

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Post-COVID breathlessness: a mathematical model of respiratory processing in the brain

von Werder,

Regnath,

Schäfer

et al. 2024

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci

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Breathlessness is among the most common post-COVID symptoms. In a considerable number of patients, severe breathlessness cannot be explained by peripheral organ impairment. Recent concepts have described how such persistent breathlessness could arise from dysfunctional processing of respiratory information in the brain. In this paper, we present a first quantitative and testable mathematical model of how processing of respiratory-related signals could lead to breathlessness perception. The model is based on recent theories that the brain holds an adaptive and dynamic internal representation of a respiratory state that is based on previous experiences and comprises gas exchange between environment, lung and tissue cells. Perceived breathlessness reflects the brain’s estimate of this respiratory state signaling a potentially hazardous disequilibrium in gas exchange. The internal respiratory state evolves from the respiratory state of the last breath, is updated by a sensory measurement of CO2 concentration, and is dependent on the current activity context. To evaluate our model and thus test the assumed mechanism, we used data from an ongoing rebreathing experiment investigating breathlessness in patients with post-COVID without peripheral organ dysfunction (N = 5) and healthy control participants without complaints after COVID-19 (N = 5). Although the observed breathlessness patterns varied extensively between individual participants in the rebreathing experiment, our model shows good performance in replicating these individual, heterogeneous time courses. The model assumes the same underlying processes in the central nervous system in all individuals, i.e., also between patients and healthy control participants, and we hypothesize that differences in breathlessness are explained by different weighting and thus influence of these processes on the final percept. Our model could thus be applied in future studies to provide insight into where in the processing cascade of respiratory signals a deficit is located that leads to (post-COVID) breathlessness. A potential clinical application could be, e.g., the monitoring of effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on respiratory processing in the brain to improve the therapeutic strategies.

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Cerebellar Representations of Errors and Internal Models

Cited by 8 publications

References 56 publications

Excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway shapes cerebellar outputs for motor control

Excitatory nucleo-olivary pathway shapes cerebellar outputs for motor control

The mediating role of childhood motor skills on the association between error correction and social pragmatic communication in adulthood

Post-COVID breathlessness: a mathematical model of respiratory processing in the brain

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