Author : Richard Zhang
Release : 2021
Genre :
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Structural Correlates of Motor Learning by : Richard Zhang
Download or read book Structural Correlates of Motor Learning written by Richard Zhang. This book was released on 2021. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The cerebellum is known to support motor learning – however, the synaptic substrates of learning are a subject of controversy. A previously well-established model of motor learning suggested that long-term depression at parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cell synapses supports motor learning; however how this model works has recently been brought into question. In order to determine what form of plasticity is induced at synapses in the cerebellum during learning, we established and adapted a form of cerebellum-dependent forelimb-reach learning in mice, followed by assessing structural plasticity in the relevant region of the cerebellum. Specifically, we used a sparse-labeling technique to assess the density of dendritic spines onto Purkinje cells, which are the sites of parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cell synapses. Our results demonstrate an inverse correlation between the amount of learning and Purkinje cell spine density, at the level of individual mice. Thus, we provide evidence that depression-like changes do indeed occur at parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cells synapses during motor learning. Moreover, the degree of such plasticity correlates with the amount of learning"--
