Nothing Little About The Little Brain—The Cerebellum
Written by Ayebamiebi Yousuo
The cerebellum, often called the little brain having two hemispheres just like the cerebrum might be a little structurally but there is more to it functionally.
Traditionally the cerebellum has been known to carry out motor functions of coordination and movement but in recent studies, it has been seen to carry out tasks beyond coordination and movement, it has been seen to carry out non-motor functions.
The non-motor functions of the cerebellum
Cognitive Function: the cerebellum has been seen to play a role in higher functions of cognition including verbal fluency, working memory, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving and might just be implicated on cognitive related health conditions more than we know.
Affective Function: this simply entails emotion and mood regulation. It has been seen that the cerebellum plays a role in emotion and mood and that a damaged cerebellum can present with what is called Crebellar Cognitive-Affective Syndrome(CCAS).
Social Function: the cerebellum plays a role in social behaviour majorly via Social Recognition Memory helping one differentiate what is familiar from what is novel and influencing social cognition, which encompasses the ability to imitate others' actions (mirroring) and understand the mental states of oneself and others (mentalizing).
Others: Contribution to reward-driven learning. Control of arousal and autonomic function.
Conclusion
Though the cerebellum is small, there is definitely more to it functionally than just the traditional motor functions. This paradigm shift culminated in the recognition that the cerebellar syndrome, which was traditionally defined as motor dysfunction (i.e., ataxia), including impaired balance and gait, incoordination of voluntary movements, and dysarthria, should be recontextualized as a three-part syndrome: the cerebellar motor syndrome; the cerebellar vestibular syndrome; and the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. Together, they form the triad of cerebellar clinical ataxiology.
References
https://www.jneurosci.org/content/43/45/7554
Written by Ayebamiebi Yousuo from MEDILOQUY