When conditions around organisms change in a way that violates their expectations, this change drives learning and the formation of new memories. How the brain detects the violation of expectations and processes it to support learning and memory is unclear but is thought to involve several brain regions, prominent among which is the cerebellum. The cerebellum is known to regulate learning of fine movements and motor coordination, and its role in non-motor functions is only now beginning to be appreciated. The investigators in this project will determine the contribution of the cerebellum to emotional learning and memory. Specifically, the investigators are examining whether communication between the cerebellum and emotion-regulating brain circuits is necessary during learning and/or recollection of threat-related emotional memories. By using novel technologies, the investigators selectively and reversibly interfere with this communication in a spatially and temporally precise manner and can thus determine its functional significance. The knowledge gained from this investigation will inform understanding of cerebellar function and of the neurobiology of emotion, with implications for neurodevelopmental and post-traumatic stress disorders. The investigators also capitalize on the fact that formation of emotional memories is a fascinating topic to which people with diverse backgrounds can readily relate and are i) mentoring undergraduate students from groups underrepresented in STEM in laboratory research; ii) continuing and expanding a public outreach initiative, which brings the latest brain science achievements to the general public and engages UC Davis trainees in public speaking to non-specialists; iii) disseminating information about brain science and research career choices to Hispanic communities locally and world-wide; and iv) are developing workshops for K-12 educators, to help further their science background and recommend ways to incorporate brain science in educational curricula.
There is growing appreciation for the modulatory role of the cerebellum in social and affective behaviors, in addition to its established role in motor control. However, the mechanistic link between the cerebellum and emotional learning and memory is lacking. Functional connections exist between the cerebellum and the amygdala, raising the exciting possibility that a cerebello-amygdala circuit processes information important for emotional learning and memory. The overarching objective of this proposal is to understand the role of the functional connectivity between the cerebellum and amygdala-based emotional circuits in learned emotion. The investigators hypothesize that the cerebellum causally contributes to threat-related emotional learning and memory through projections to emotional circuits. They are testing this hypothesis at the microcircuit and synaptic levels through a multifaceted approach, which leverages the spatiotemporal resolution of optogenetic and pharmacogenetic tools to dissociate motor from non-motor effects. The expectation is that if communication between the cerebellum and specific emotional centers is necessary for learned emotion, then inhibition of cerebellar projections should impair aspects of learned emotion. The project is conceptually innovative because it assigns for the first time emotional functionality to cerebellar projections that are well-conserved across mammals but have received little attention to-date. It is also technically innovative because it employs for the first time an approach to the study of the cerebellum and learned emotion that minimizes compensatory effects and enables the separation of motor from non-motor contributions. The potential exists to break new ground in the understanding of cerebellar function and of the neurobiology of emotion. Finally, the project is of broad interest as it offers deep insights into principles of motivated behavior and sheds light into the role of traditionally-considered motor areas in non-motor functions.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
