title: Memory trace and timing mechanism localized to cerebellar Purkinje cells.
abstract: The standard view of the mechanisms underlying learning is that they involve strengthening or weakening synaptic connections. Learned response timing is thought to combine such plasticity with temporally patterned inputs to the neuron. We show here that a cerebellar Purkinje cell in a ferret can learn to respond to a specific input with a temporal pattern of activity consisting of temporally specific increases and decreases in firing over hundreds of milliseconds without a temporally patterned input. Training Purkinje cells with direct stimulation of immediate afferents, the parallel fibers, and pharmacological blocking of interneurons shows that the timing mechanism is intrinsic to the cell itself. Purkinje cells can learn to respond not only with increased or decreased firing but also with an adaptively timed activity pattern.
authors.affiliation: Associative Learning Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning, Lund University, S-222 00 Lund, Sweden; and fredrik.johansson@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: Associative Learning Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning, Lund University, S-222 00 Lund, Sweden; and.
authors.forename: Dan-Anders
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jirenhed
authors.affiliation: Associative Learning Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning, Lund University, S-222 00 Lund, Sweden; and.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive, and Cognitive Systems, Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08018 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-6010
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zucca
authors.affiliation: Associative Learning Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden; The Linnaeus Center Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning, Lund University, S-222 00 Lund, Sweden; and.
authors.forename: Germund
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hesslow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005289:Ferrets / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011724:Pyridazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011724:Pyridazines; C049853:gabazine
keywords: cerebellum; eyeblink conditioning; glutamate transmission; temporal control