Cerebellar feedback signals of a passive hand movement in the awake monkey

Abstract

From three intact and awake monkeys, 149 Purkinje cells and 44 presumed mossy fibres were recorded in the intermediate part of the cerebellar anterior lobe, and this activity was analyzed with regard to different parameters of a passive hand movement. The tonic discharge rate of the simple spikes (SS) varied according to different joint positions only in a single Purkinje cell, whereas such a position relation was found in nine out of 44 presumed mossy fibres. A phasic increase of the complex spike (CS) discharge rate of Purkinje cells in response to passive wrist movements usually occurred within 100 ms after movement onset. However, in some units a phase of increased CS rate was observed which lasted for the whole movement duration. The amount of this phasic increase in the CS rate depended on the acceleration of movement, but the SS response to movements of different velocity remained unchanged.