Hemicerebellectomy impairs the modulation of cutaneomuscular reflexes by the motor cortex following repetitive somatosensory stimulation.

We examined the cutaneomuscular reflex of the plantaris muscle of rats in response to cutaneous stimulation in isolation and in conjunction with subthreshold high-frequency trains of stimuli applied on the motor cortex, prior to and following repetitive peripheral stimulation. The cutaneomuscular reflex was also investigated under the same paradigm following hemicerebellectomy. The enhancement of cutaneomuscular responses associated with subthreshold high-frequency trains of stimulation following repetitive peripheral stimulation was prevented by hemicerebellectomy. Our results suggest that the pathways passing through the cerebellum are involved in the calibration of cutaneomuscular responses.