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The Neuroscientist, Vol. 11, No. 3, 217-227 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1073858405276428

Reviews

The Cerebellum: Synaptic Changes and Fear Conditioning

Benedetto Sacchetti

Rita Levi-Montalcini Center for Brain Repair, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Bibiana Scelfo

Rita Levi-Montalcini Center for Brain Repair, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Piergiorgio Strata

Rita Levi-Montalcini Center for Brain Repair, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy, Rehabilitation Hospital and Research Institute, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, piergiorgio.strata{at}unito.it

In addition to coordinating movement, the cerebellum participates in motor learning, emotional behavior, and fear memory. Fear learning is reflected in a change of autonomic and somatic responses, such as heart rate and freezing, elicited by a neutral stimulus that has been previously paired with a painful one. Manipulation of the vermis affects these responses, and its reversible inactivation during the consolidation period impairs fear memory. The neural correlate of cerebellar involvement in fear consolidation is provided by a behaviorally induced long-term increase of synaptic efficacy between parallel fibers and a Purkinje cell. Similar synaptic changes after fear conditioning are well documented in the amygdala and hippocampus, providing a link between emotional experiences and changes in neural activity. In addition, in hotfoot mice, with a primary deficiency of parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapse, short- and long-term fear memories are affected. All these data support the idea that the cerebellum participates in fear learning. The functional interconnection of the vermis with hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus suggests a more complex role of the cerebellum as part of an integrated network regulating emotional behavior.

Key Words: Fear conditioning • Learning and memory • Cerebellar vermis • Purkinje cell • Parallel fiber • LTP/LTD


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B. Scelfo, B. Sacchetti, and P. Strata
Learning-related long-term potentiation of inhibitory synapses in the cerebellar cortex
PNAS, January 15, 2008; 105(2): 769 - 774.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]