The intermediate cerebellum may function as a wave-variable processor.

A newly developed model suggests that the intermediate cerebellum and spinal cord gray matter may contribute to movement control by processing control signals as wave variables. Within specialized communication systems, wave variables are combinations of forward and return signals that ensure stable exchange between two sites despite transmission delays. The composition of signals transmitted in the ventral spinocerebellar tract appears to be consistent with that of a wave variable, and computer simulations of the model yield signals similar to those observed in the monkey interpositus nucleus. Wave-variable communication may enable the animal motor system to maintain stable, high-performance feedback control in the presence of potentially destabilizing signal transmission delays.