Distributed learning across fast and slow neural systems supports efficient motor adaptation

Adaptation is a fundamental aspect of motor learning. Intelligent systems must adapt to perturbations in the environment while simultaneously maintaining stable memories. Classic work has argued that this trade-off could be resolved by complementary learning systems operating at different speeds; yet the mechanisms enabling coordination between slow and fast systems remain unknown. Here, we propose a multi-region distributed learning model in which learning is shared between two populations of neurons with distinct roles and structures: a recurrent ‘controller’ network which stores a slowly evolving memory, and a feedforward ‘adapter’ network that rapidly learns to respond to perturbations in the environment. In our model, supervised learning in the adapter produces a predictive error signal that simultaneously tutors consolidation in the controller through a local plasticity rule. Our model offers insight into the mechanisms that may support distributed computations in the motor cortex and cerebellum during motor adaptation.