The role of the cerebellum in timing

The cerebellum has long been implicated in the timing of actions as well as the perception of the timing of stimuli. Initially dominated by lesion studies, the advance of neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques has, in recent years, given a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the cerebellum’s involvement in timing. In particular, cerebellar oscillations in the beta band range (14–30 Hz) seem to be crucial for regulating timing functions.

We here review the existing literature and argue that the cerebellum’s role in timing is integrated with its role in sensory prediction across the spatial and temporal domains. We also discuss the relation to the basal ganglia and their role in timing and propose a network of cerebellum, thalamus and basal ganglia underlying proactive action.

Finally, we discuss how new techniques such as optically pumped magnetometry and deep brain stimulation will reveal more about the cerebellum’s functions in the future.