Cerebellar granule cell signaling is indispensable for normal motor performance.

ABSTRACT: Within the cerebellar cortex, mossy fibers (MFs) excite granule cells (GCs) that excite Purkinje cells (PCs), which provide outputs to the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCNs). It is well established that PC disruption produces motor deficits such as ataxia. This could arise from either decreases in ongoing PC-DCN inhibition, increases in the variability of PC firing, or disruption of the flow of MF-evoked signals. Remarkably, it is not known whether GCs are essential for normal motor function. Here we address this issue by selectively eliminating calcium channels that mediate transmission (Ca_V2.1, Ca_V2.2, and Ca_V2.3) in a combinatorial manner. We observe profound motor deficits but only when all Ca_V2 channels are eliminated. In these mice, the baseline

SUBMITTER: Lee JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10258556 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature