Mini-review: The Role of the Cerebellum in Visuomotor Adaptation

Abstract

The incredible capability of the brain to quickly alter performance in response to ever-changing environment is rooted in the process of adaptation. The core aspect of adaptation is to fit an existing motor program to altered conditions. Adaptation to a visuomotor rotation or an external force has been well established as tools to study the mechanisms underlying sensorimotor adaptation. In this mini-review, we summarize recent findings from the field of visuomotor adaptation. We focus on the idea that the cerebellum plays a central role in the process of visuomotor adaptation and that interactions with cortical structures, in particular, the premotor cortex and the parietal cortex, may be crucial for this process. To this end, we cover a range of methodologies used in the literature that link cerebellar functions and visuomotor adaptation; behavioral studies in cerebellar lesion patients, neuroimaging and non-invasive stimulation approaches. The mini-review is organized as follows: first, we provide evidence that sensory prediction errors (SPE) in visuomotor adaptation rely on the cerebellum based on behavioral studies in cerebellar patients. Second, we summarize structural and functional imaging studies that provide insight into spatial localization as well as visuomotor adaptation dynamics in the cerebellum. Third, we discuss premotor — cerebellar interactions and how these may underlie visuomotor adaptation. And finally, we provide evidence from transcranial direct current and magnetic stimulation studies that link cerebellar activity, beyond correlational relationships, to visuomotor adaptation .

Understanding implicit sensorimotor adaptation as a process of proprioceptive re-alignment

“…Computationally, explicit and implicit processes for adaptation are constrained to solve different problems: Whereas explicit processes focus on goal attainment, implicit processes are designed to ensure that the selected movement is flawlessly executed (Taylor & Ivry, 2011). Consistent with this distinction, the deployment of aiming strategies to offset an experimentally imposed perturbation requires prefrontal control (Anguera et al, 2010;Benson et al, 2011;, whereas implicit adaptation is dependent on the integrity of the cerebellum (Butcher et al, 2017;Haar & Donchin, 2020;Hadjiosif et al, 2014;Izawa et al, 2012;Schlerf et al, 2013;Taylor et al, 2010;Tseng et al, 2007;Tzvi et al, 2021).…”

Understanding implicit sensorimotor adaptation as a process of proprioceptive re-alignment

“…Computationally, explicit and implicit processes for adaptation are constrained to solve different problems, whereas explicit processes focus on goal attainment, implicit processes are designed to ensure that the selected movement is flawlessly executed ( Taylor et al, 2011 ). Consistent with this distinction, the deployment of aiming strategies to offset an experimentally imposed perturbation requires prefrontal control ( Anguera et al, 2010 ; Benson et al, 2011 ; Taylor and Ivry, 2014a ), whereas implicit adaptation is dependent on the integrity of the cerebellum ( Butcher et al, 2017 ; Haar and Donchin, 2020 ; Hadjiosif et al, 2014 ; Izawa et al, 2012 ; Schlerf et al, 2013 ; Taylor et al, 2010 ; Tseng et al, 2007 ; Tzvi et al, 2022 ).…”

ReActLab: A Custom Framework for Sensorimotor Experiments “in-the-wild”

“…More recent evidence, however, suggests that multiple, qualitatively distinct processes contribute to the error reduction measured in adaptation paradigms ( Huberdeau et al, 2015 ; Krakauer et al, 2019 ). Along with an implicit component, likely dependent on cerebellar processes and outside of one’s awareness ( Tzvi et al, 2021 ), recalibration to imposed perturbations also rely to some degree on overt cognitive strategies, mainly driven by the explicit knowledge of the presence of the imposed perturbation ( Taylor and Ivry, 2012 ). Since implicit and explicit components both contribute to the measured adaptation response, distinguishing between their relative contribution is nontrivial.…”