Towards an algorithm of cerebellar control of movement

Abstract

What does the cerebellum do?  Here I will discuss my lab's work identifying computations that achieve anticipatory and rapid feedback control of reaching movements through learning. Our experiments use electrophysiology, optogenetics and quantitative kinematics in mice to dissect a layer-by-layer algorithm that enhances movement precision. We have discovered signatures of predictive motor commands in cerebellar output neurons and evidence that such signals are under plastic control by upstream cerebellar circuits that reweight inputs associated with errors. We propose that these computations explain specific deficits that emerge with cerebellar damage, namely dysmetria, and that the cerebellum overcomes inherent instability of sensory delays by computing predictive control policies. This idea can be extended beyond the motor domain to accommodate hypotheses about cerebellar involvement in cognition and social behaviors.