# Synaptic Coding in the Cerebellar Corticonuclear Circuit

> **NIH NIH R35** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $628,591

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Premotor neurons of the cerebellar nuclei (CbN) are spontaneously active neurons that integrate excitatory
and inhibitory input, largely from mossy fibers and Purkinje neurons, to generate the output of the cerebellum.
The cerebellum facilitates coordinated movement and corrects errors in real time, and also changes to learn
new motor patterns over time. These observations raise the question of how synaptic input modulates intrinsic
firing in a manner that permits premotor CbN neurons to identify deviations from predicted sensory input and
encode appropriate corrective outputs. We are studying the biophysical and synaptic mechanisms that
constrain and define patterns of CbN cell firing in response to physiological patterns of synaptic input in vitro
and expected or unexpected sensory input during motor behaviors in vivo. Recent work suggests that the
degree of inhibitory synchrony from convergent Purkinje cells may dictate cerebellar output in mice in a
condition-dependent manner. We will therefore study cerebellar physiology and behavior in mice and in larval
zebrafish, to provide a comparative approach, both in vitro and in vivo. Purkinje and CbN cell firing patterns will
be monitored both during well-learned, predictable motor behaviors, during unpredicted sensory inputs, and
during motor learning such as habituation and associative conditioning. The observations will be related to
synaptic studies of the interaction of excitatory with inhibitory inputs, convergence and connectivity, and short-
term and long-term plasticity. Such linking of the biophysical and behavioral levels will help explain the
mechanisms by which the cerebellar circuit produces adaptive responses to deviations from predictions,
thereby facilitating well-executed movement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986286
- **Project number:** 1R35NS116854-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Indira M Raman
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $628,591
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986286

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986286, Synaptic Coding in the Cerebellar Corticonuclear Circuit (1R35NS116854-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986286. Licensed CC0.

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