[Seminar] Functional organization of the cerebellum during motor learning in mice by Professor Javier F Medina

Theories of motor learning propose that error signals are sent to the cerebellum, where they are used to improve future motor performance by driving adaptive changes in the activity of specific neural populations. In the first part of my talk, I will use data from eyeblink conditioning in mice to demonstrate that the source of the local error signal sent to each individual Purkinje cell dictates how its pattern of activity is shaped during motor learning. In the second part of my talk, I will show that in the same eyeblink conditioning task, neurons in a small area of the mouse cerebellar nuclei play a critical role in controlling a complex motor synergy that requires the coordination of multiple muscles.  Altogether, the results suggest a new organizational framework for understanding what the cerebellum learns, and how.  

Biography:

Goals: To understand the neural circuits and mechanisms of plasticity that underlie cerebellar learning, and use the findings to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of motor and cognitive disorders associated with cerebellar dysfunction
Interests: Supervised learning – Prediction machines – Timing – Sensorimotor integration
Methods: Behavior – In vivo electrophysiology and imaging – Optogenetics – Pharmacology –
Computational neuroscience – Machine learning
Significance: Motor & cognitive cerebellar dysfunction – Neuroprosthetics – AI