The firing patterns of cerebellar Purkinje cells PCs , as the sole output of the cerebellar cortex, determine and tune motor behavior. PC firing is modulated by various inputs from different brain regions and by cell-types including granule cells GCs , climbing fibers and inhibitory interneurons. To understand how signal integration in PCs occurs and how subtle changes in the modulation of PC firing lead to adjustment of motor behaviors, it is important to precisely record PC firing in vivo and to control modulatory pathways in a spatio-temporal manner.
Combining optogenetic and multi-electrode approaches, we established a new method to integrate light-guides into a multi-electrode system. With this method we are able to variably position the light-guide in defined regions relative to the recording electrode with micrometer precision.
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Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Purkinje cells PCs are the sole output of cerebellar cortex and are part of the computational network involved in motor planning and execution.
PCs reveal a spontaneous firing rate [1] that is modulated during movement [2] , [3]. Various anatomical structures contribute to the dendritic circuitry of PCs. Axons of molecular layer interneurons MLI basket and stellate cells traverse sagittally, while axons of granule cells GCs parallel fibers run coronally relative to the PC cell body and dendritic tree.
