Cerebellum: cognitive functions

In the nineteenth century, researchers reached a consensus on the basis of animal ablation experiments that damage to the cerebellum leads to motor disorders but does not affect its sensory or cognitive functions. This model has been so influential that for over 100 years, the cerebellum has been considered to be strictly involved in motor control, whereas cerebellar function in cognition has been hotly debated. The current consensus is centered around the belief that the cerebellum intervenes in many domains, from motor to emotion and from sensory processing to learning. This article discusses the cognitive functions of the cerebellum. Examples of cerebellar involvement in various higher cognition functions will be provided, and theories on the specificity of the cerebellar contribution to cognition will be advanced.