Connection Control Implications in a Distributed Plasticity Cerebellar Model

Abstract

The cerebellum is one of the parts of the brain which has aroused more curiosity amongst neuroscientists. Indeed, several forms of plasticity mechanisms have been reported at several sites of the cerebellar model circuitry, thus including plasticity mechanisms not just at parallel fibers (a well-accepted plasticity site) but also at synaptic inputs of deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) (from mossy fibers (MFs) [1,2]and Purkinje cells (PCs) [3,4]). The Marr and Albus model already hypothesized that parallel fiber (PFs)->Purkinje cell synapses presented both long-term potentiation (LTP) [5,6] and long-term depression (LTD) [5-7] plasticity so as to correlate the activity at parallel fibers with the incoming error signal through climbing fibers. Nevertheless, in subsequent studies, it has been demonstrated that many sites in the cerebellum show traces of plasticity [8-10]. But the way in which those distributed plasticity mechanisms may improve the operational capabilities of the cerebellum is still an open issue…

Publication
CNS*2013
Date
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