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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 6, 2006, 26(36):9107-9116; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2622-06.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Cerebellar Contributions to Locomotor Adaptations during Splitbelt Treadmill Walking

Susanne M. Morton^1,2,3 and Amy J. Bastian^3,4

¹Departments of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and ²Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, and ³Department of Neurology and ⁴Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Susanne M. Morton, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, Allied Health Building, Suite 115, 100 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Email: smorton{at}som.umaryland.edu

Locomotor adaptability ranges from the simple and fast-acting to the complex and long-lasting and is a requirement for successful mobility in an unpredictable environment. Several neural structures, including the spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, and motor cortex, have been implicated in the control of various types of locomotor adaptation. However, it is not known which structures control which types of adaptation and the specific mechanisms by which the appropriate adjustments are made. Here, we used a splitbelt treadmill to test cerebellar contributions to two different forms of locomotor adaptation in humans. We found that cerebellar damage does not impair the ability to make reactive feedback-driven motor adaptations, but significantly disrupts predictive feedforward motor adaptations during splitbelt treadmill locomotion. Our results speak to two important aspects of locomotor control. First, we have demonstrated that different levels of locomotor adaptability are clearly dissociable. Second, the cerebellum seems to play an essential role in predictive but not reactive locomotor adjustments. We postulate that reactive adjustments may instead be predominantly controlled by lower neural centers, such as the spinal cord or brainstem.

Key words: cerebellum; motor learning; locomotion; central pattern generator; adaptation; human

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Received March 28, 2006; revised July 29, 2006; accepted July 31, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Susanne M. Morton, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, Allied Health Building, Suite 115, 100 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Email: smorton{at}som.umaryland.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Heng and R. D. de Leon The Rodent Lumbar Spinal Cord Learns to Correct Errors in Hindlimb Coordination Caused by Viscous Force Perturbations during Stepping J. Neurosci., August 8, 2007; 27(32): 8558 - 8562. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-w. Tseng, J. Diedrichsen, J. W. Krakauer, R. Shadmehr, and A. J. Bastian Sensory Prediction Errors Drive Cerebellum-Dependent Adaptation of Reaching J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2007; 98(1): 54 - 62. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. S. Reisman, R. Wityk, K. Silver, and A. J. Bastian Locomotor adaptation on a split-belt treadmill can improve walking symmetry post-stroke Brain, July 1, 2007; 130(7): 1861 - 1872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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