We map projections from the cerebellar cortex to targets in the deep nuclei, and from the nuclei to brain stem structures that are involved in the control of movement. In behavioural experiments, we study the role of the cerebellum in the control of movement. For example we studied the role of the cerebellum in the guidance of jumping. Rats can be trained to jump across a gap between two platforms in complete darkness. We use an infrared detector to observe the animal's performance in this task.
Rats palpate the distant platform with their whiskers.
If they can feel the distant platform they will jump. If not, rats refuse to jump. Studies in other labs demonstrated that the so-called barrel fields, the region of the rat primary somatosensory cortex that receives sensory input from the whiskers, are necessary for whisker guided jumping. We identified the anatomical pathway by which cortical whisker information reaches the cerebellum. When we made small cuts in the fibre tracts linking the barrel field to the pontine nuclei, thus depriving the cerebellum of cortical-based whisker input, the rats refused to jump.