Update to our preprint: "Cerebellar acceleration of learning in an evidence-accumulation task"

An update to our manuscript on enhanced learning with cerebellar perturbations is now available at BioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.23.474034v2.

Perturbation to the cerebellum can lead to motor dysfunction, cognitive deficits, and behavioral inflexibility. Here we report that a cerebellum-specific transgenic mouse model with disrupted Purkinje cell function shows unexpectedly accelerated learning on a sensory evidence-accumulation task, as well as enhanced sensory reactivity to touch and auditory cues. Computational latent-state analysis of behavior revealed that accelerated learning was associated with enhanced focus on current over past trials. Learning was also accelerated by providing cue-locked optogenetic stimulation of Purkinje cells, but unaffected by continuous optogenetic interference with Purkinje cell activity. Both transgenic and optogenetically-boosted mice showed prolonged electrophysiological activity in Purkinje-cell complex spikes and anterior cingulate cortex. We suggest that cerebellar activity may shape evidence-accumulation learning by enhancing task focus and neocortical processing of current experience.

Schematic of the evidence-accumulation setup on the left, and on the right a graph showing that L7-Tsc1 mutant animals learn this task faster. — Left: the evidence-accumulation task. Mice receive sensory airpuffs on the left and right whiskers, and receive a reward for correctly licking in the direction of more puffs. Right: Kaplan-Meier estimator of probability of reaching the final level of task training for L7-Tsc1 mutant mice (n = 8, median 3410 trials) and wild-type littermates (n = 8, median 9636 trials, χ2(1) = 6.49, p = 0.011, log-rank test). Shaded areas in Kaplan-Meier curves represent 95% confidence intervals.