The modular cerebellum and locomotion

Project summary

The cerebellum is responsible for the propagation of smooth movement necessary for day-to-day life. Dysfunction of the cerebellum can lead to a variety of devastating motor disorders that effect movement in different ways. Recent evidence has shown that the cerebellum features a functional organization that is likely necessary for its signaling. Neither the role of this organization in limb movement and locomotion nor whether it is disrupted in disease is clear. I hypothesize that the modular organization of the cerebellar nuclei (CN), the output of the cerebellum, is essential for the organized control of limbs during locomotion

The results of this project will bring us closer to the long-term goal of understanding how the organization of the cerebellum is necessary for its normal function that allows for us to coordinate our movement and how that goes wrong in motor disease.