Abstract
Purkinje cells (PCs), the sole output neuron of the cerebellar cortex, are inhibitory projection neurons targeting the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei. They compute excitatory information from granule cells (GCs) and climbing fibers (CFs), and inhibitory information from molecular interneurons (MLIs). PCs display two distinct types of the action potential, the simple spike (SS), which is a regular action potential elicited spontaneously and modulated by GCs, and the complex spike (CS), which is generated by the climbing fiber input. PC dysfunctions lead to the motor as well as non-motor cerebellar disorders.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Akemann W, Knöpfel T (2006) Interaction of Kv3 potassium channels and resurgent sodium current influences the rate of spontaneous firing of Purkinje neurons. J Neurosci 26:4602–4612
Apps R, Hawkes R (2009) Cerebellar cortical organization: a one-map hypothesis. Nat Rev Neurosci 10:670–681
Apps R et al (2018) Cerebellar modules and their role as operational cerebellar processing units. Cerebellum 17(5):654–682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-018-0952-3
Batchelor AM, Garthwaite J (1993) Novel synaptic potentials in cerebellar Purkinje cells: probable mediation by metabotropic glutamate receptors. Neuropharmacology 32:11–20
Belmeguenai A, Hosy E, Bengtsson F, Pedroarena CM, Piochon C, Teuling E, He Q, Ohtsuki G, De Jeu MTG, Elgersma Y, De Zeeuw CI, Jörntell H, Hansel C (2010) Intrinsic plasticity complements long-term potentiation in parallel fiber input gain control in cerebellar Purkinje cells. J Neurosci 30:13630–13643
Binda F, Pernaci C, Saxena S (2020) Cerebellar development and circuit maturation: a common framework for spinocerebellar ataxias. Front Neurosci 14:293
Blot A, Barbour B (2014) Ultra-rapid axon–axon ephaptic inhibition of cerebellar Purkinje cells by the pinceau. Nat Neurosci 17:289–295
Cerminara NL, Lang EJ, Sillitoe RV, Apps R (2015) Redefining the cerebellar cortex as an assembly of non-uniform Purkinje cell microcircuits. Nat Rev Neurosci 16:79–93. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3886
Chen S, Augustine GJ, Chadderton P (2016) The cerebellum linearly encodes whisker position during voluntary movement. Elife 5:1–16. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10509
Cook AA, Fields E, Watt AJ (2021) Losing the beat: contribution of Purkinje cell firing dysfunction to disease, and its reversal. Neuroscience 462:247–261. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306452220303778
Davie JT, Clark BA, Häusser M (2008) The origin of the complex spike in cerebellar Purkinje cells. J Neurosci 28:7599–7609. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0559-08.2008
De Zeeuw CI (2021) Bidirectional learning in upbound and downbound microzones of the cerebellum. Nat Rev Neurosci 22:92–110
De Zeeuw CI, Hoebeek FE, Bosman LWJ, Schonewille M, Witter L, Koekkoek SK (2011) Spatiotemporal firing patterns in the cerebellum. Nat Rev Neurosci 12:327–344
Dell’Orco JM, Pulst SM, Shakkottai VG (2017) Potassium channel dysfunction underlies Purkinje neuron spiking abnormalities in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Hum Mol Genet 26:3935–3945
Diedrichsen J, King M, Hernandez-Castillo C, Sereno M, Ivry RB (2019) Universal transform or multiple functionality? Understanding the contribution of the human cerebellum across task domains. Neuron 102:918–928. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0896627319303782
Ebner T, Pasalar S (2008) Cerebellum predicts the future motor state. Cerebellum 7:583–588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-008-0059-3
Eccles JC, Ito M, Szentagotai J (1967) The cerebellum as neuronal machine. Springer, Berlin
Edgerton JR, Reinhart PH (2003) Distinct contributions of small and large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels to rat Purkinje neuron function. J Physiol 548:53–69
Engbers JDT, Anderson D, Asmara H, Rehak R, Mehaffey WH, Hameed S, McKay BE, Kruskic M, Zamponi GW, Turner RW (2012) Intermediate conductance calcium-activated potassium channels modulate summation of parallel fiber input in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:2601–2606
González-Calvo I et al (2021) Sushi domain-containing protein 4 controls synaptic plasticity and motor learning. Elife 10:e65712
Grangeray-Vilmint A, Valera AM, Kumar A, Isope P (2018) Short-term plasticity combines with excitation–inhibition balance to expand cerebellar Purkinje cell dynamic range. J Neurosci 38:5153–5167. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/38/22/5153.full.pdf
Gruol DL, Franklin CL (1987) Morphological and physiological differentiation of Purkinje neurons in cultures of rat cerebellum. J Neurosci 7:1271–1293
Hansel C, de Jeu M, Belmeguenai A, Houtman SH, Buitendijk GHS, Andreev D, De Zeeuw CI, Elgersma Y (2006) αCaMKII is essential for cerebellar LTD and motor learning. Neuron 51:835–843
Harvey R, Napper R (1991) Quantitatives studies on the mammalian cerebellum. Prog Neurobiol 36:437–463
Häusser M, Clark BA (1997) Tonic synaptic inhibition modulates neuronal output pattern and spatiotemporal synaptic integration. Neuron 19:665–678
Hildebrand ME, Isope P, Miyazaki T, Nakaya T, Garcia E, Feltz A, Schneider T, Hescheler J, Kano M, Sakimura K (2009) Functional coupling between mGluR1 and Cav3.1 T-type calcium channels contributes to parallel fiber-induced fast calcium signaling within Purkinje cell dendritic spines. J Neurosci 29:9668–9682. https://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/31/9668
Hong S, Negrello M, Junker M, Smilgin A, Thier P, De Schutter E (2016) Multiplexed coding by cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Elife 5:e13810. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13810
Hoxha E, Balbo I, Miniaci MC, Tempia F (2018) Purkinje cell signaling deficits in animal models of ataxia. Front Synaptic Neurosci 10:6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsyn.2018.00006/full
Hurlock EC, McMahon A, Joho RH (2008) Purkinje-cell-restricted restoration of Kv3.3 function restores complex spikes and rescues motor coordination in Kcnc3 mutants. J Neurosci 28:4640–4648
Isope P, Barbour B (2002) Properties of unitary granule cell → Purkinje cell synapses in adult rat cerebellar slices. J Neurosci 22:9668–9678. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/22/9668.full.pdf
Ito M (2001) Cerebellar long-term depression: characterization, signal transduction, and functional roles. Physiol Rev 81:1143–1195
Ito M (2006) Cerebellar circuitry as a neuronal machine. Prog Neurobiol 78:272–303
Jelitai M, Puggioni P, Ishikawa T, Rinaldi A, Duguid I (2016) Dendritic excitation–inhibition balance shapes cerebellar output during motor behaviour. Nat Commun 7:13722
Joho RH, Street C, Matsushita S, Knöpfel T (2006) Behavioral motor dysfunction in Kv3-type potassium channel-deficient mice. Genes Brain Behav 5:472–482
Jörntell H, Hansel C (2006) Synaptic memories upside down: bidirectional plasticity at cerebellar parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses. Neuron 52:227–238
Kano M, Hashimoto K (2012) Activity-dependent maturation of climbing fiber to Purkinje cell synapses during postnatal cerebellar development. Cerebellum 11:449–450
Khaliq ZM, Raman IM (2005) Axonal propagation of simple and complex spikes in cerebellar Purkinje neurons. J Neurosci 25:454–463
Lambolez B, Audinat E, Bochet P, Crépel F, Rossier J (1992) AMPA receptor subunits expressed by single Purkinje cells. Neuron 9:247–258
Latham A, Paul DH (1971) Spontaneous activity of cerebellar Purkinje cells and their responses to impulses in climbing fibres. J Physiol 213:135–156
Levin SI, Khaliq ZM, Aman TK, Grieco TM, Kearney JA, Raman IM, Meisler MH (2006) Impaired motor function in mice with cell-specific knockout of sodium channel Scn8a (NaV1.6) in cerebellar Purkinje neurons and granule cells. J Neurophysiol 96:785–793
Loewenstein Y, Mahon S, Chadderton P, Kitamura K, Sompolinsky H, Yarom Y, Häusser M (2005) Bistability of cerebellar Purkinje cells modulated by sensory stimulation. Nat Neurosci 8:202–211
Meera P, Pulst SM, Otis TS (2016) Cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying spinocerebellar ataxias. J Physiol 594:4653–4660
Mittmann W, Koch U, Häusser M (2005) Feed-forward inhibition shapes the spike output of cerebellar Purkinje cells. J Physiol 563:369–378
Otsu Y, Marcaggi P, Feltz A, Isope P, Kollo M, Nusser Z, Mathieu B, Kano M, Tsujita M, Sakimura K, Dieudonné S (2014) Activity-dependent gating of calcium spikes by A-type K+ channels controls climbing fiber signaling in Purkinje cell dendrites. Neuron 84(1):137–151. http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/25220810
Özcan OO, Wang X, Binda F, Dorgans K, De Zeeuw CI, Gao Z, Aertsen A, Kumar A, Isope P (2020) Differential coding strategies in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the medial cerebellar nucleus. J Neurosci 40:159–170
Palay SL, Chan-Palay V (1974) Cerebellar cortex. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65581-4
Palmer LM, Clark BA, Gründemann J, Roth A, Stuart GJ, Häusser M (2010) Initiation of simple and complex spikes in cerebellar Purkinje cells. J Physiol 588:1709–1717
Perkel DJ, Hestrin S, Sah P, Nicoll RA (1990) Excitatory synaptic currents in Purkinje cells. Proc Biol Sci 241:116–121
Person AL, Raman IM (2012) Purkinje neuron synchrony elicits time-locked spiking in the cerebellar nuclei. Nature 481:502–505
Piochon C, Titley HK, Simmons DH, Grasselli G, Elgersma Y, Hansel C (2016) Calcium threshold shift enables frequency-independent control of plasticity by an instructive signal. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2016:13897. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613897113
Raman IM, Bean BP (1997) Resurgent sodium current and action potential formation in dissociated cerebellar Purkinje neurons. J Neurosci 17:4517–4526
Ransdell JL, Dranoff E, Lau B, Lo W-L, Donermeyer DL, Allen PM, Nerbonne JM (2017) Loss of Navβ4-mediated regulation of sodium currents in adult Purkinje neurons disrupts firing and impairs motor coordination and balance. Cell Rep 19:532–544
Raymond JL, Medina JF (2018) Computational principles of supervised learning in the cerebellum. Annu Rev Neurosci 41:233–253. http://browzine.com/articles/213595147
Roth A, Häusser M (2001) Compartmental models of rat cerebellar Purkinje cells based on simultaneous somatic and dendritic patch-clamp recordings. J Physiol 535:445–472
Ruigrok TJH (2011) Ins and outs of cerebellar modules. Cerebellum 10:464–474
Schmahmann JD, Guell X, Stoodley CJ, Halko MA (2019) The theory and neuroscience of cerebellar cognition. Annu Rev Neurosci 42:337–364. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-070918-050258
Schmolesky MT, Weber JT, De Zeeuw CI, Hansel C (2002) The making of a complex spike: ionic composition and plasticity. Ann N Y Acad Sci 978:359–390
Schonewille M, Khosrovani S, Winkelman BHJ, Hoebeek FE, De Jeu MTG, Larsen IM, Van Der Burg J, Schmolesky MT, Frens MA, De Zeeuw CI (2006) Purkinje cells in awake behaving animals operate at the upstate membrane potential. Nat Neurosci 9:459–461. http://www.nature.com/articles/nn0406-459
Shadmehr R, Smith MA, Krakauer JW (2010) Error correction, sensory prediction, and adaptation in motor control. Annu Rev Neurosci 33:89–108. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-060909-153135
Sokolov AA, Miall RC, Ivry RB (2017) The cerebellum: adaptive prediction for movement and cognition. Trends Cogn Sci 21:313–332
Swensen AM, Bean BP (2003) Ionic mechanisms of burst firing in dissociated Purkinje neurons. J Neurosci 23:9650–9663
Szapiro G, Barbour B (2007) Multiple climbing fibers signal to molecular layer interneurons exclusively via glutamate spillover. Nat Neurosci 10:735–742
Takechi H, Eilers J, Konnerth A (1998) A new class of synaptic response involving calcium release in dendritic spines. Nature 396:757–760
Thach WT, Goodkin HP, Keating JG (1992) The cerebellum and the adaptive coordination of movement. Annu Rev Neurosci 15:403–442
Titley HK, Watkins GV, Lin C, Weiss C, McCarthy M, Disterhoft JF, Hansel C (2020) Intrinsic excitability increase in cerebellar Purkinje cells after delay eye-blink conditioning in mice. J Neurosci 40:2038–2046
Tsai PT, Hull C, Chu Y, Greene-Colozzi E, Sadowski AR, Leech JM, Steinberg J, Crawley JN, Regehr WG, Sahin M (2012) Autistic-like behaviour and cerebellar dysfunction in Purkinje cell Tsc1 mutant mice. Nature 488:647–651
Uemura T, Lee SJ, Yasumura M, Takeuchi T, Yoshida T, Ra M, Taguchi R, Sakimura K, Mishina M (2010) Trans-synaptic interaction of GluRδ2 and neurexin through Cbln1 mediates synapse formation in the cerebellum. Cell 141:1068–1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2010.04.035
Wadiche JI, Jahr CE (2005) Patterned expression of Purkinje cell glutamate transporters controls synaptic plasticity. Nat Neurosci 8:1329–1334
Walter JT, Khodakhah K (2006) The linear computational algorithm of cerebellar Purkinje cells. J Neurosci 26:12861–12872
Walter JT, Alviña K, Womack MD, Chevez C, Khodakhah K (2006) Decreases in the precision of Purkinje cell pacemaking cause cerebellar dysfunction and ataxia. Nat Neurosci 9:389–397
Wang SS, Denk W, Häusser M (2000) Coincidence detection in single dendritic spines mediated by calcium release. Nat Neurosci 3:1266–1273
Wang SS-H, Kloth AD, Badura A (2014) The cerebellum, sensitive periods, and autism. Neuron 83:518–532
Weber JT, De Zeeuw CI, Linden DJ, Hansel C (2003) Long-term depression of climbing fiber-evoked calcium transients in Purkinje cell dendrites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100:2878–2883
Williams SR, Christensen SR, Stuart GJ, Häusser M (2002) Membrane potential bistability is controlled by the hyperpolarization-activated current I(H) in rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons in vitro. J Physiol 539:469–483
Wolpert DM, Miall RC, Kawato M (1998) Internal models in the cerebellum. Trends Cogn Sci 2:338–347
Womack MD, Hoang C, Khodakhah K (2009) Large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels affect both spontaneous firing and intracellular calcium concentration in cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Neuroscience 162:989–1000
Yang Y, Lisberger SG (2014) Purkinje-cell plasticity and cerebellar motor learning are graded by complex-spike duration. Nature 510:529–532
Yuzaki M (2017) The C1q complement family of synaptic organizers: not just complementary. Curr Opin Neurobiol 45:9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2017.02.002
Zhou H, Lin Z, Voges K, Ju C, Gao Z, Bosman LWJ, Ruigrok TJH, Hoebeek FE, De Zeeuw CI, Schonewille M (2014) Cerebellar modules operate at different frequencies. Elife 3:e02536
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rossi, T., Isope, P. (2023). Purkinje Cells. In: Gruol, D.L., Koibuchi, N., Manto, M., Molinari, M., Schmahmann, J.D., Shen, Y. (eds) Essentials of Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15070-8_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15070-8_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-15069-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-15070-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)