Work

A Mechanism for Savings in the Cerebellum

Year: 2001

Type: article

Abstract: The phenomenon of savings (the ability to relearn faster than the first time) is a familiar property of many learning systems. The utility of savings makes its underlying mechanisms of special interest. We used a combination of computer simulations and reversible lesions to investigate mechanisms of savings that operate in the cerebellum during eyelid conditioning, a well characterized form of motor learning. The results suggest that a site of plasticity outside the cerebellar cortex (possibly in the cerebellar nucleus) can be protected from the full consequences of extinction and that the residual plasticity that remains can later contribute to the savings seen during relearning.

Source: Journal of Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.21-11-04081.2001

Authors: Javier F. Medina, Keith S. Garcia, Michael D. Mauk

Institution: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Language: English

Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health

Awards: G1029250256, Computational analysis of cerebellar motor learning, Cerebellar Mechanisms of Motor Learning