The primate cortico-cerebellar system: anatomy and function

Abstract

Evidence has been accumulating that the primate cerebellum contributes not only to motor control, but also to higher 'cognitive' function. However, there is no consensus about how the cerebellum processes such information. The answer to this puzzle can be found in the nature of cerebellar connections to areas of the cerebral cortex (particularly the prefrontal cortex) and in the uniformity of its intrinsic cellular organization, which implies uniformity in information processing regardless of the area of origin in the cerebral cortex. With this in mind, the relatively well-developed models of how the cerebellum processes information from the motor cortex might be extended to explain how it could also process information from the prefrontal cortex.