Summary: Keywords--Cerebellar microcomplex, spatial navigation,
spiking network model.
I. CONTEXT
ecent experimental findings have begun to unravel the
implication of the cerebellum in high-level functions
such as spatial cognition [1,2]. We focus on behavioural
genetic data showing that L7-PKCI mice (lacking LTD at
parallel fibre­Purkinje cell synapses) have a spatial learning
impairment in the Morris Watermaze (MWM), whereas they
exhibit normal performances in the Starmaze, a paradigm that
reduces the procedural demand of the task [3]. These results
suggest that cerebellar learning may prominently contribute to
the procedural component of spatial learning [3].
R
II.METHODS
We model the main information processing components of
the cerebellar microcomplex via a large-scale network of
spiking neurons. We test the performances of artificial L7-
PKCI mice in simulated MWM and Starmaze environments.
Importantly, we isolate the purely procedural component of

Source: Arleo, Angelo - Laboratory of Neurobiology of Adaptive Processes, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris 6

Collections: Biology and Medicine