A model of the cerebellar sensory--motor control applied to fast human forearm movements

To address the problem of how the cerebellum processes the premotor orders that control fast movements of the forearm, a model of the cerebellar control is proposed: a cybernetic circuit composed of a model of the cerebellar premotor pathways driving a biomechanical model of the human forearm. Experiments consist of recording electromyographic (EMG) activities and cinematic variables of the human forearm during fast, single joint, point-to-point movements performed in horizontal and vertical directions with and without mass. The biomechanical model of the forearm is first validated by comparing actual movements and movements simulated by using, as inputs to this model, the synthesized EMG signals and of real EMG activities recorded during the experiments. Then the entire control model is validated by comparing actual movements to the desired ones simulated by the model of the cerebellar pathways whose inputs are velocity signals with Gaussian time-courses. The results show that approximate inverse functions can be computed by means of inner models of direct functions placed in feedback loops, and suggest that the orientation of any member segment with respect to gravity is computed as a cinematic variable in the Central Nervous System (CNS).