Summary
A theory of the motor functions of the cerebellum and the basal ganglia is presented. It is based on the following observations:
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1.
Dysmetria of saccadic eye and rapid arm movements as well as adiadochokinesis as a consequence of cerebellar cortical lesions.
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2.
Holding tremor of the arm and eyes (pendular nystagmus) due to lesions of the cerebellar nuclei.
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3.
The precentral motor cortex is unnecessary for saccadic eye movements.
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4.
Cerebral potentials in man preceding voluntary movements differ for the hand and the eye.
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The arm and the leg but not the eyes are capable of smooth (ramp) movements of voluntary speed.
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6.
Loss of the ability for ramp movements (akinesis) is the main defect resulting from lesions of the extrapyramidal motor system (strio-nigro-pallidum).
The functional interpretation starts from the fact that rapid (saccadic, ballistic) movements cannot be regulated continuously but rather they must be preprogrammed. In case of complete recruitment of motoneurons the energies needed for different movements must be translated into different burst durations of motoneurons. For the calculation of these durations the starting and end positions must be taken into account. Therefore afferent information from mechanoreceptors are required for this preprogramming. On the other hand, slow smooth movements of voluntary speed may be regulated continuously by feedback. In the production of ramp movements the main point is integration-in the technical sense.
The conclusion is that the function of the cerebellar cortex is to calculate the burst duration for rapid preprogrammed movements, a discontinuous function. On the contrary, the function of the cerebellar nuclei is to hold the positions reached by rapid movements precisely, a continuous regulation. The function of the basal ganglia (the strio-nigro-pallidum) is to generate slow smooth movements of voluntary speed, i.e. from the technical point of view, the basal ganglia function as a ramp generator.
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The theory reported here was first presented as an invited lecture at the German Physiological Society Meeting, Erlangen 1970.
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Kornhuber, H.H. Motor functions of cerebellum and basal ganglia: the cerebellocortical saccadic (ballistic) clock, the cerebellonuclear hold regulator, and the basal ganglia ramp (voluntary speed smooth movement) generator. Kybernetik 8, 157–162 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290561
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290561