Introducing the brain: cerebellar contributions explored (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, February 24, 2020, 00:13 (1516 days ago) @ dhw

The cerebellum is packed with small neurons and contains 3/4 of all brain neurons. It is known to contribute neuro-sensory controls to muscle activity and coordination . New findings still have not covered all its functions in relation to cognitive activity:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394018304671?dgcid=raven_sd_...

"Cerebrocerebellar connections confer functional topography on cerebellar organization.

"Sensorimotor processing is represented principally in the cerebellar anterior lobe.

"Anterior lobe damage causes the motor syndrome of gait ataxia and limb dysmetria.

"Cognition and emotion are subserved by the cerebellar posterior lobe.

"Posterior lobe lesions cause the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS).

"The CCAS scale can identify and rate degree of impairment in clinical contexts.

"The cerebellar role in behavioral neurology / neuropsychiatry continues to evolve.

"What the cerebellum does to sensorimotor and vestibular control, it also does to cognition, emotion, and autonomic function. This hypothesis is based on the theories of dysmetria of thought and the universal cerebellar transform, which hold that the cerebellum maintains behavior around a homeostatic baseline, automatically, without conscious awareness, informed by implicit learning, and performed according to context.

***

"The sensorimotor cerebellum is represented in the anterior lobe with a second representation in lobule VIII, and lesions of these areas lead to the cerebellar motor syndrome of ataxia, dysmetria, dysarthria and impaired oculomotor control. The cognitive / limbic cerebellum is in the cerebellar posterior lobe, with current evidence pointing to three separate topographic representations, the nature of which remain to be determined. Posterior lobe lesions result in the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS), the hallmark features of which include deficits in executive function, visual spatial processing, linguistic skills and regulation of affect."

Comment: Still only partially understood. And points to how special we are, with its cognitive activities.