Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output

Patients with cerebellar damage experience various motor impairments, but the specific sequence of primary and compensatory processes that contribute to these deficits remains unclear. To clarify this, we reversibly blocked cerebellar outflow in monkeys engaged in planar reaching tasks. This interve...

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Main Authors: Nirvik Sinha, Sharon Israely, Ora Ben Harosh, Ran Harel, Julius PA Dewald, Yifat Prut
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2025-06-01
Series:eLife
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Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/105152
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author Nirvik Sinha
Sharon Israely
Ora Ben Harosh
Ran Harel
Julius PA Dewald
Yifat Prut
author_facet Nirvik Sinha
Sharon Israely
Ora Ben Harosh
Ran Harel
Julius PA Dewald
Yifat Prut
author_sort Nirvik Sinha
collection DOAJ
description Patients with cerebellar damage experience various motor impairments, but the specific sequence of primary and compensatory processes that contribute to these deficits remains unclear. To clarify this, we reversibly blocked cerebellar outflow in monkeys engaged in planar reaching tasks. This intervention led to a spatially selective reduction in hand velocity, primarily due to decreased muscle torque, especially in movements requiring high inter-joint torque coupling. When examining repeated reaches to the same target, we found that the reduced velocity resulted from both an immediate deficit and a gradually developing compensatory slowing to reduce passive inter-joint interactions. However, the slowed hand velocity did not account for the fragmented and variable movement trajectories observed during the cerebellar block. Our findings indicate that cerebellar impairment results in motor deficits due to both inadequate muscle torque and an altered motor control strategy for managing impaired limb dynamics. Additionally, impaired motor control elevates noise, which cannot be entirely mitigated through compensatory strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-14935c4ea6ea4d81953fc2199028ae9c2025-08-20T03:29:38ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-06-011410.7554/eLife.105152Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar outputNirvik Sinha0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6960-7159Sharon Israely1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4298-7395Ora Ben Harosh2https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2587-834XRan Harel3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-7114Julius PA Dewald4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0641-8400Yifat Prut5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1988-8794Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United States; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United StatesEdmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelEdmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelDepartment of Neurosurgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, IsraelDepartment of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United States; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States; Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United StatesEdmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelPatients with cerebellar damage experience various motor impairments, but the specific sequence of primary and compensatory processes that contribute to these deficits remains unclear. To clarify this, we reversibly blocked cerebellar outflow in monkeys engaged in planar reaching tasks. This intervention led to a spatially selective reduction in hand velocity, primarily due to decreased muscle torque, especially in movements requiring high inter-joint torque coupling. When examining repeated reaches to the same target, we found that the reduced velocity resulted from both an immediate deficit and a gradually developing compensatory slowing to reduce passive inter-joint interactions. However, the slowed hand velocity did not account for the fragmented and variable movement trajectories observed during the cerebellar block. Our findings indicate that cerebellar impairment results in motor deficits due to both inadequate muscle torque and an altered motor control strategy for managing impaired limb dynamics. Additionally, impaired motor control elevates noise, which cannot be entirely mitigated through compensatory strategies.https://elifesciences.org/articles/105152macaque fasciculariscerebelluminteraction torquesmotor noiseweaknessmuscle torques
spellingShingle Nirvik Sinha
Sharon Israely
Ora Ben Harosh
Ran Harel
Julius PA Dewald
Yifat Prut
Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
eLife
macaque fascicularis
cerebellum
interaction torques
motor noise
weakness
muscle torques
title Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
title_full Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
title_fullStr Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
title_full_unstemmed Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
title_short Disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
title_sort disentangling acute motor deficits and adaptive responses evoked by the loss of cerebellar output
topic macaque fascicularis
cerebellum
interaction torques
motor noise
weakness
muscle torques
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/105152
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