Cerebellar thalamic activity in the macaque monkey encodes the duration but not the force or velocity of wrist movement

Abstract

The way in which the cerebellum influences the output of the motor cortex is not known. The aim of this study was to establish whether information about force, velocity or duration of movement is encoded in cerebellar thalamic discharge and could therefore be involved in the modulation of motor cortical activity. Extracellular single cell recordings were made from the cerebellar thalamus (66 neurones) and VPLc (49 neurones) of four conscious macaques performing simple wrist movements with various load and gain conditions imposed. A significant correlation (Spearman's; P < 0.05) was found between movement duration and the duration of neuronal discharge of most cerebellar thalamic neurones (65..