# Context- and phase-dependent gating of cerebellar output

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $34,595

## Abstract

Project Summary
The cerebellum is essential for producing skilled movements, like reaching, and dysfunction of this structure
causes disruptive motor disorders. However, how cerebellar output influences the structures that command
skilled motor output remains unclear. Cerebellum targets the red nucleus (RN), a brainstem pre-motor nucleus
that is known to command movements of the limbs. Previous research in my lab has shown that modest
optogenetic activation of the interposed nucleus of the cerebellum (IN) results in a kinematic perturbation of the
forelimb in mice performing reaching movements12. Strikingly, the properties of the observed perturbation are
context-dependent, but phase-independent, e.g. there is no movement at rest, and the same change in
movement occurs both in outreach and return of the paw. These findings lead me to hypothesize that
cerebellar output is interpreted differentially downstream depending on context and phase, and that RN is a
site that mediates differential effects of cerebella output. To test this hypothesis, I will record neural activity in
RN during differing phases of reach and at rest while activating IN optogenetically. This will allow me to
examine if IN activation differential effect on RN activity between contexts and phases. Additionally, I will
record the activity of muscles of the forelimb during IN activation to determine if the effect on muscle activation
is dependent on context and phase. I expect to find that both RN activity and EMG amplitude will be reduced
during rest, different between phases, and that the observed changes will aid in explaining the observed
context-dependence and phase-invariance. I will also establish the degree of necessity of the cerebellorubral
circuit in mediating these effects through the expression of excitatory and inhibitory designer receptors in RN,
that, when paired with IN stimulation optogenetically, should reveal the input output relationship between IN,
RN, and the effected kinematics due to the cerebellorubral motor pathway.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10163693
- **Project number:** 5F31NS113409-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Jesse I Gilmer
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $34,595
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10163693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10163693, Context- and phase-dependent gating of cerebellar output (5F31NS113409-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10163693. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*