Elpiniki Tianis, “Synaptic and Astrocytic Plasticity of Motor-Learning Within the Cerebellum”
Mentor: Rodney Swain, Psychology

Motor-skills are imperative to execute basic functions within everyday life, and the ability to learn novel motor-skills allows for constant additions to the skill set. This project arose from interest in the plasticity of motor learning while incorporating knowledge that cerebellar synaptogenesis and astrocytic hypertrophy occur during motor learning. In addition, this research sought to explore the presence of these effects during the acquisition phase of learning, which occurs earlier than previous research has explored. Particularly, exploring the acquisition phase, instead of a later, more skilled performance of motor-skill learning, is that the performance of the subject is unstable. Research was conducted using male and female rat models, which were trained on an aerial acrobatics course. This course consisted of obstacles of varying difficulty, such as a metallic link chain, a small upright ladder, and a suspended rope with rotating blocks. Across four days the rats were trained, and on the final day, the animals were euthanized to extract the cerebellar tissue. Cerebellar tissue was prepared and sliced ultrathin for examination under electron and light microscopy. Stereoscopy methods were used to evaluate synaptic and astrocytic plasticity. This process outlined many significant findings, where, in both gender experimental groups, there was an increase both in astrocytic volume and in parallel fiber- Purkinje cell synapses in each cell. There was a difference in gender performance in the beginning acrobatic training, in which female rats had fewer errors and shorter latencies than male counterparts. This difference did not present in the morphology of the cerebellum. Identification of structural changes that coincide with motor-skill learning can assist in the development of treatments for motor impairments.