A Spatiotemporal Hypothesis on the Role of 4- to 25-Hz Field Potential Oscillations in Cerebellar Cortex

Abstract The cerebellar cortex harbors many types of oscillatory processes. While the recent history outlines an important role for olivocerebellar rhythms in shaping Purkinje cell activity, only since 1995 or so has there been an emphasis on other types of rhythms occurring in the cerebellar cortex granule cell layer (GCL). Under the pretense of a sport application, after a quick review of the 4- to 25-Hz GCL phenomena, here we develop a hypothesis on how information flow through the cerebellar cortex could be modulated by local GCL networks and serve to establish a potential role for expectancy-based sensory comparisons. With the potential for corollary discharge comparisons taking place within the GCL, we advance the concept that such oscillation and synchrony processes could serve the establishment of internal models and in the prediction capacities of the cerebellum.