Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol 67, Issue 3 483-495, Copyright © 1992 by APS

ARTICLES

Responses of cerebellar Purkinje cells to slip of a hand-held object

C. Dugas and A. M. Smith
Departement de Physiologie, Centre de Recherche en Science Neurologiques, Universite de Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1. Two monkeys were trained to grasp, lift, and hold a device between the thumb and forefinger for 1 s. The device was equipped with a position transducer and strain gauges that measured the horizontal grip force and the vertical lifting or load force. On selected blocks of 20-30 trials, a force-pulse perturbation was applied to the object during static holding to simulate object slip. The animals were required to resist this displacement by stiffening the joints of their wrists and fingers to obtain a fruit juice reward. Single cells in the hand representation area of the paravermal anterior lobe of the cerebellar cortex were recorded during perturbed and unperturbed holding. If conditions permitted, the cell discharge was also recorded during lifting of objects of various weights (15, 65, or 115 g) or different surface textures (sandpaper or polished metal), and when possible the cutaneous or proprioceptive fields of the neurons were characterized with the use of natural stimulation. 2. On perturbed trials, the force pulse was always applied to the manipulandum after it had been held stationary within the position window for 750 ms. The perturbation invariably elicited a reflexlike increase of electromyographic (EMG) activity in wrist and finger muscles, resulting in a time-locked increase in grip force that peaked at a latency between 50 and 100 ms. 3. The object-slip perturbation had a powerful effect on cerebellar cortical neurons at a mean latency of 45 +/- 14 (SD) ms. Reflexlike increases or decreases in simple spike discharge occurred in 55% (53/97) of unidentified cells and 49% (21/43) of Purkinje cells recorded in the anterior paravermal and lateral cerebellar cortex. 4. The perturbation failed to evoke complex spike responses from any of the Purkinje cells examined. All the perturbation-evoked activity changes involved modulation of the simple spike discharge. The perturbations stimulated the simple-spike receptive field of most Purkinje cells recorded here, which suggests that the short-latency unit responses were triggered by afferent stimulation. Only one Purkinje cell was found with a distinct complex-spike receptive field on the thumb, but this neuron did not respond to the perturbation. It appears that simple- and complex-spike to receptive fields are not always identical or even closely related. 5. The majority of Purkinje and unidentified neurons that responded to the perturbation had cutaneous receptive fields, although some had proprioceptive fields. Seventy-seven neurons were examined for peripheral receptive fields and were also tested with the perturbation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. H. Ehrsson, A. Fagergren, G. O. Ehrsson, and H. Forssberg Holding an Object: Neural Activity Associated With Fingertip Force Adjustments to External Perturbations J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2007; 97(2): 1342 - 1352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. R. Mason, C. M. Hendrix, and T. J. Ebner Purkinje Cells Signal Hand Shape and Grasp Force During Reach-to-Grasp in the Monkey J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2006; 95(1): 144 - 158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Smith and R. Shadmehr Intact Ability to Learn Internal Models of Arm Dynamics in Huntington's Disease But Not Cerebellar Degeneration J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2005; 93(5): 2809 - 2821. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Monzee and A. M. Smith Responses of Cerebellar Interpositus Neurons to Predictable Perturbations Applied to an Object Held in a Precision Grip J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2004; 91(3): 1230 - 1239. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Monzee, T. Drew, and A. M. Smith Effects of Muscimol Inactivation of the Cerebellar Nuclei on Precision Grip J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2004; 91(3): 1240 - 1249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Ohki and K. Watanabe Dependence of Reactive Responses in Human Bimanual Finger Movements on Sensory Feedback and Auditory Cues J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2004; 91(3): 1260 - 1270. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Komuro, T. Morimoto, K. Iwata, T. Inoue, Y. Masuda, T. Kato, and O. Hidaka Putative Feed-Forward Control of Jaw-Closing Muscle Activity During Rhythmic Jaw Movements in the Anesthetized Rabbit J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2001; 86(6): 2834 - 2844. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-J. Boudreau, T. Brochier, M. Pare, and A. M. Smith Activity in Ventral and Dorsal Premotor Cortex in Response to Predictable Force-Pulse Perturbations in a Precision Grip Task J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2001; 86(3): 1067 - 1078. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-J. Boudreau and A. M. Smith Activity in Rostral Motor Cortex in Response to Predictable Force-Pulse Perturbations in a Precision Grip Task J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2001; 86(3): 1079 - 1085. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Hartmann and J. M. Bower Tactile Responses in the Granule Cell Layer of Cerebellar Folium Crus IIa of Freely Behaving Rats J. Neurosci., May 15, 2001; 21(10): 3549 - 3563. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Lang and A. J. Bastian Cerebellar Subjects Show Impaired Adaptation of Anticipatory EMG During Catching J Neurophysiol, November 1, 1999; 82(5): 2108 - 2119. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Salimi, T. Brochier, and A. M. Smith Neuronal Activity in Somatosensory Cortex of Monkeys Using a Precision Grip. III. Responses to Altered Friction Perturbations J Neurophysiol, February 1, 1999; 81(2): 845 - 857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. Horn, T. M. Hamm, and A. R. Gibson Red Nucleus Stimulation Inhibits Within the Inferior Olive J Neurophysiol, December 1, 1998; 80(6): 3127 - 3136. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Birznieks, M. K. O. Burstedt, B. B. Edin, and R. S. Johansson Mechanisms for Force Adjustments to Unpredictable Frictional Changes at Individual Digits During Two-Fingered Manipulation J Neurophysiol, October 1, 1998; 80(4): 1989 - 2002. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Cadoret and A. M. Smith Comparison of the Neuronal Activity in the SMA and the Ventral Cingulate Cortex During Prehension in the Monkey J Neurophysiol, January 1, 1997; 77(1): 153 - 166. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E Courchesne and G Allen Prediction and preparation, fundamental functions of the cerebellum. Learn. Mem., January 1, 1997; 4(1): 1 - 35. [PDF]

				L M Parsons, J M Bower, J H Gao, J Xiong, J Li, and P T Fox Lateral cerebellar hemispheres actively support sensory acquisition and discrimination rather than motor control. Learn. Mem., January 1, 1997; 4(1): 49 - 62. [Abstract] [PDF]