Cerebellum Flashcards
What is the cerebellum important for?
Balance
Coordination
Refinement of movement
How does the cerebellum compare intended and actual movement?
Compares input from motor planning centres with vestibular and proprioceptive organs
If the cerebellum detects that actual movement was not the same as intended, what does it do?
Send corrective signals to motor planning centre
Via thalamus and directly to UMN nuclei
The cerebellum is good at refining simple movements. What do more complex movements require? Why?
Practice
To improve synapse efficiency
What may an animal with a damaged cerebellum look like?
Uncoordinated
Where is the cerebellum located? In relation to hemispheres, pons and medulla oblongata
Caudal to cerebral hemispheres
Dorsal to pons and medulla oblongata
What makes up the cerebellum?
Highly folded cortex of deep nuclei and grey matter
White matter in the cerebellum forms branching tracts. What are these called?
Arbor vitae (tree of life)
What do the arbor vitae consist of? Where do they synapse?
Purkinje cell axons
Synapse on deep cerebellar nuclei of grey matter
The cortex of the cerebellum is folded. What are these folds called?
Folia
What are the 3 lobes of the cerebellum called?
Rostral
Caudal
Flocculonodular
From a dorsal perspective, what is the cerebellum separated into?
2 hemispheres
Vermis in between hemispheres
What are the cerebellar peduncles? How many are there?
Stalks of white matter
Allow cerebellum to communicate with brain stem
3 on each side = 6
What are the names of the 3 pairs of the peduncles?
Caudal
Middle
Rostral peduncles
What fibres are in each pair of peduncles?
Caudal = afferent Middle = afferent Rostral = efferent