DYNAMICS OF NEURAL ACTIVITY IN THE CEREBELLUM

Oregon Health And Science University, Portland OR

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Investigator's Abstract) The ultimate goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the observed activity patterns of cerebellar neurons in response to time varying input. The proposed research will approach this goal by mathematically analyzing the dynamics of temporally ordered responses to natural sensory stimuli in the uvula-nodulus of the mammalian cerebellum. The uvula-nodulus provides a unique opportunity for a mathematical investigation of neuronal dynamics in the cerebellum. Not only have the inputs been well described both anatomically and physiologically, but the temporal patterns of vestibular-related simple spike and climbing fiber responses have been characterized by data from well controlled experimental manipulations. However, the difficulty of experimentally exploring the roles of various mechanisms, such as rules of adaptive change and intracellular connections, make theoretical and modeling work a necessary adjunct to experimental study. This project calculates the responses of Purkinje cells to natural sensory stimuli, and determines the changes in the amplitude and timing of these responses using mathematical analysis and computer simulations based on experimental data. The objective is to predict the spatiotemporal activity patterns of Purkinje cells along a medio-lateral section through the uvula-nodulus. The Specific Aims are: (1) to determine the effects of different learning rules governing synaptic plasticity on Purkinje cell responses to vestibular stimuli, and (2) to determined the effects of network properties and sensory input timing on Purkinje cell responses to vestibular stimuli.