Cerebellar Circuits

Abstract

The cerebellum has a critical role in control of timing and coordination of movement, acquisition of skills, and cognitive and affective functions. It participates in motor control via both immediate online adjustments of motor performance and long-term adaptive motor learning, referred to as supervised or error-based learning. Most of the cerebellum is interconnected with association areas of the cerebral cortex. The cerebellum is a major target of genetic, degenerative, metabolic, and immune disorders. Experimental evidence indicates that disrupted Purkinje cell pacemaking activity and synaptic plasticity in the cerebellum have a major role in the pathophysiology of ataxia. The cerebellar circuits also have a major role in the pathophysiology of different types of tremor.