Cerebellar Functions

Definition

Defining the function of the cerebellum has been an elusive target of investigators for at least a century. Most initial inferences resulted from ablation experiments in animals and clinical studies of cerebellar patients. In general, disturbances in balance, posture, eye movements, and control of volitional, goal-directed movements were observed. Fundamentally, these disturbances were primarily related to the fine control of various movements, not an inability to initiate or execute the task. Based on these observations, the cerebellum was considered to play a major role in regulating a wide variety of motor behaviors with little involvement in nonmotor functions. This restrictive view changed dramatically in the early 1980s with the discovery that lesions of the cerebellum in otherwise intact animals made it impossible to acquire and recall the classically conditioned eyeblink reflex. More recent imaging studies showed correlates of neuronal activity in the cerebellum...