Neural Correlates of Reinforcement Learning in Mid-lateral Cerebellum

The role of the cerebellum in non-motor learning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the activity of Purkinje cells (P-cells) in the mid-lateral cerebellum as the monkey learned to associate one arbitrary symbol with the movement of the left hand and another with the movement of the right ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Vol. 106; no. 1; p. 188
Main Authors: Sendhilnathan, Naveen, Semework, Mulugeta, Goldberg, Michael E, Ipata, Anna E
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 08.04.2020
Subjects:
Animals
Association Learning - physiology
Cerebellar Nuclei - physiology
Cerebellum - physiology
Macaca mulatta
Photic Stimulation
Purkinje Cells - physiology
Reinforcement, Psychology
Reward
simple spike
cognition
crus II
Purkinje cell
learning
crus I
visuomotor association learning
cerebellum
complex spike
reinforcement learning
ISSN:1097-4199, 1097-4199
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:The role of the cerebellum in non-motor learning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the activity of Purkinje cells (P-cells) in the mid-lateral cerebellum as the monkey learned to associate one arbitrary symbol with the movement of the left hand and another with the movement of the right hand. During learning, but not when the monkey had learned the association, the simple spike responses of P-cells reported the outcome of the animal's most recent decision without concomitant changes in other sensorimotor parameters such as hand movement, licking, or eye movement. At the population level, P-cells collectively maintained a memory of the most recent decision throughout the entire trial. As the monkeys learned the association, the magnitude of this reward-related error signal approached zero. Our results provide a major departure from the current understanding of cerebellar processing and have critical implications for cerebellum's role in cognitive control.
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ISSN:1097-4199
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.12.032