Purkinje cell outputs selectively inhibit a subset of unipolar brush cells in the input layer of the cerebellar cortex

Circuitry of the cerebellar cortex is regionally and functionally specialized. Unipolar brush cells (UBCs), and Purkinje cell (PC) synapses made by axon collaterals in the granular layer, are both enriched in areas that control balance and eye movement. Here, we find a link between these specializations in mice: PCs preferentially inhibit metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 (mGluR1)-expressing UBCs that respond to mossy fiber (MF) inputs with long lasting increases in firing, but PCs do not inhibit mGluR1-lacking UBCs. PCs inhibit about 29% of mGluR1-expressing UBCs by activating GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)Rs) and inhibit almost all mGluR1-expressing UBCs by activating GABA(B) receptors (GABA(B)Rs). PC to UBC synapses allow PC output to regulate the input layer of the cerebellar cortex in diverse ways. Based on optogenetic studies and a small number of paired recordings, GABA(A)R-mediated feedback is fast and unreliable. GABA(B)R-mediated inhibition is slower and is sufficiently large to strongly influence the input-output transformations of mGluR1-expressing UBCs.

Automated summary

In the cerebellar cortex, Purkinje cells selectively inhibit unipolar brush cells expressing mGluR1, thus regulating balance and eye movement. GABA receptor-mediated inhibition on unipolar brush cells can influence the input-output transformations of the cerebellar cortex in diverse ways.