Distributed plasticity in the cerebellar circuit

Abstract

In contrast with the original Motor Learning Theory that included a single form of plasticity at the parallel fi ber - Purkinje cell synapse, recent experimental work has revealed at least nine forms of long-term synaptic and non-synaptic plasticity (some of which bidirectional) distributed among the cerebellar cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei). Thus, understanding cerebellar plasticity requires now that the spatio-temporal interplay of these multiple mechanisms are analyzed during specifi c behaviors. A recent set of experimental and modeling investigations has opened a new view on how the multiple forms of long-term synaptic plasticity might cooperate to generate cerebellar learning and memory in sensori-motor control tasks.