Abstract
The basal ganglia and the cerebellum are major subcortical structures in the motor system. The basal ganglia have been cast as the reward center of the motor system, whereas the cerebellum has been hypothesized to be involved in adjusting sensorimotor parameters. Recent findings of reward signals in the cerebellum have challenged this dichotomous view. To directly compare the basal ganglia and the cerebellum we recorded from oculomotor regions in both structures from the same monkeys. We partitioned the trial-by-trial variability of the neurons into reward and eye-movement signals to compare the coding within and across structures. Reward expectation and movement signals were the most pronounced in the output structure of the basal ganglia, intermediate in the cerebellum, and the smallest in the input structure of the basal ganglia. These results indicate different information convergence properties within these structures and demonstrate differences in internal computations.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.