The research group Neural basis of sensory motor control was formerly called Cerebellar Physiology.
Henrik Jörntell, PhD, is principal investigator of the group. Former group leader Carl-Fredrik Ekerot retired recently.
Our research projects focus on the cerebellum as an important centre for motor control, motor adaptation and learning of complex motor tasks.
We hope that In the long term, our research will help developing effective methods for rehabilitation of patients with different motor handicaps.
The cerebellar cortex is divided into sagittal zones, each receiving a specific climbing fibre input, and projecting to its own efferent nucleus. We have studied the cerebellar C3 zone in detail and used it as a model system.
The C3 zone is divided into about 40 microzones which each receive climbing fibre input from a specific peripheral receptive field. Mossy fibre afferents to a microzone are activated from similar peripheral receptive fields as the climbing fibres and is transmitted to Purkinje cells and interneurones in the molecular layer by granule cells.
Recently we have made the first intracellular studies ever of granular cells in vivo using the patch clamp technique. Our studies show that the mossy fibre input to a granule cell is modality and receptive field specific and that granule cells serve as threshold elements since activity in at least two or more mossy fiibers are required to fire these cells. Thus only very significant information is transmitted through the granule layer.
Depression of parallel fibre synapses ( LTD) has previously been considered the mechanism behind synaptic plasticity in the cerebellum. We have identified and characterised three new climbing fiber controlled learning mechanisms: long-term potentiation ( LTP) of parallel fibre input to Purkinje cells and LTP and LTD of parallel fibre input to interneurones. The mechanisms behind these novel forms of synaptic plasticity are currently being investigated by in vivo patch clamp recording.
The new learning mechanisms must be of central importance for cerebellar function since they they can be induced, in a predictable way, by activation of cutaneous receptors. Hence, they might be used to develop effective methods for rehabilitation of patients with different motor handicaps.
Page Manager: Anna Appelberg
Last modified: 2012-02-07
