Neuropsychology and the Cerebellum: Part I

Bill Yates
Brain Posts

7th November 2011

Cerebellum Highlighted in Purple

When in medical school I remember memorizing the functions of the cerebellum with the acronym ETC standing for equilibrium, tone (motor) and coordination.

I won't mention how long ago that was but I will note that until about the last 20 years or so, this was the common view of the limits of the cerebellum.

Within the last twenty years, the function of the cerebellum is being understood to expand to a much more complex list of domains.

This increased understanding of the role of the cerebellum stems from study of patients with hereditary cerebellar disorders, i.e. spinocerebellar ataxia, localized strokes involving the cerebellum, advances in neuroanatomy and brain imaging studies related to brain function such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).

Christopher O'Halleran and colleagues from Australia have recently reviewed the neuropsychological functions linked to the cerebellum in an article published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.  Additionally, they have pointed out this brain region appears linked to several clinical neuropsychiatric conditions including: autism, ADHD and schizophrenia.

The cerebellum appears to have "localization of discrete cognitive processes".  The anterior cerebellum contributes to sensory and motor function while the posterior cerebellum is involved in cognitive processes.  Medial portions of the cerebellum participate in emotional regulation.

Here are some of the neuropsychological domains of emerging knowledge associated with the cerebellum:

• Visuospatial: The cerebellum appears to influence a variety of visuospatial functions.  The right cerebellum seems to crucial in visual attention while the left cerebellum contributes to visuospatial processes.
• Learning and memory:  The cerebellum seems important in many learning and memory functions including those related to procedural, associative and declarative domains.
• Language: The left cerebellum participates in articulation while the posterior right cerebellum contributes to cognitive elements of language.
• Executive functioning: The review noted that patients with spinocerebellar ataxia have "a wide range of deficits in executive functioning such as concept formation, abstract reasoning, mental flexibility, sensitivity to interference, planning and organization, set shifting, and sequencing".   Cerebellar infarction can produce dysfunction in working memory--a key component of executive function.
• Social, emotional and regulatory behavior:  In addition to effects in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function, the cerebellum appears important prefrontal cortex known to modulate affective regulation.  Patients with cerebellar pathology commonly show evidence of impaired prefrontal cortex function including anxiety, agressive outbursts and impaired judgement.  Imagining the mental states of others is a key emotional skill that appears to be part of the role of the right cerebellar hemisphere.

The is an excellent review of what is known about the neuropsychological domains linked to the cerebellum.  In the next post, I will focus on the second part of this review: the cerebellum and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Screen shot of the cerebellum from the iPad app 3D Brain from the author's personal file.

O'Halloran CJ, Kinsella GJ, & Storey E (2011). The cerebellum and neuropsychological functioning: A critical review. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology PMID: 22047489.

See the original article:

Neuropsychology and the Cerebellum: Part I

in

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