Lateral Cerebellar Nucleus Lesions Disrupt Rule-Based Category Learning and Cognitive Flexibility in Rats

Cerebellar communication with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) may play a significant role in cognitive functions. Our previous studies found that rule-based (RB) category learning depends on the PFC in humans and rats. The PFC is also crucial for behavioral flexibility following rule-changes in various tasks. Very little is known regarding the role of the cerebellum in RB category learning. The current study was designed to determine whether the cerebellum plays a role in RB category learning, and in categorization following a rule switch. Female and male rats were given bilateral lesions of the lateral cerebellar nuclei (LCN) or a control surgery and trained on an RB category learning task followed by a category rule switch. A subset of rats was trained on a control discrimination task with the same trial procedures as the categorization task. Rats with LCN lesions took significantly longer to learn both the first and second category rules but were not impaired on the control task. Computational modeling revealed less task engagement and increased switching between engaged and non-engaged states in the LCN lesion group. Several measures of task performance indicated that the category learning deficit was not caused by a motor impairment, response bias, or an inability to discriminate the stimuli. The category learning deficits with LCN lesions were related to reduced accuracy of stimulus classification, an inability to maintain task engagement, and loss of flexibility. The results show, for the first time, that the cerebellum plays a crucial role in category learning and category rule-switching.