The Role of the Hippocampus in Memory Formation and the Consequences of Its Dysfunction

The Role of the Hippocampus in Memory Formation and the Consequences of Its Dysfunction

The Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a motor structure (Mottolese et al., 2012) attached to the brainstem posterior to the pons. It consists of a cortex, nuclei, and medulla. The cortex is gray and has ridges called folia, while the medulla is white and resembles a branched tree called the arbor vitae, with the nuclei positioned at the deep center of the medulla. Furthermore, the cerebellum is divided into three major parts: an inferior flocculonodular lobe, a narrow worm-shaped cerebellar vermis at the center, and two lateral hemispheres. Each part is important in the proper functioning of the cerebellum.

Structure and Functions of the Cerebellum

Functions of the cerebellum include control of muscle movement and tone, balance governance, regulation of deliberate movement, working memory, coordination of motor skills, and regulation of cognitive emotions. The flocculonodular lobe controls the balance and movement of the eyes. At the same time, the vermis works in concert with the medial part of the lateral hemisphere in the control of locomotion, posture, and fine motor coordination to produce smooth movements. Meanwhile, the major parts of the lateral hemispheres and the frontal lobes of the cortex function together in learning complicated movements, practicing, and planning. Further, the cerebellum works with the other central nervous system regions through three tracts termed cerebellar peduncles. These are the inferior, middle, and superior cerebellar peduncles that link the cerebellum to the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain, respectively (VanPutte et al., 2019).

Effects of a Dysfunctioning Cerebellum

Effects of a damaged cerebellum include, firstly, cognitive effects. These include poor learning skills, impaired memory, reasoning, and disorganized speech. For instance, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia are characterized by such symptoms (neural and behavioral abnormalities) due to reduced cerebellar volume (Phillips et al., 2015). Secondly, cerebellum damage results in balance and movement problems: irregular motions and poor targeting of objects. Finally, a malfunction in the midline cerebellum section leads to impairments in visual directions. Individuals with such damage are impaired in tasks requiring them to determine the velocity and direction of visual motion surrounded by noise (Bastian, 2011).

References

Bastian, A. (2011). Moving, Sensing, and Learning with Cerebellar Damage. Current Opinion In Neurobiology, 21(4), 596-601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2011.06.007

Mottolese, C., Richard, N., Harquel, S., Szathmari, A., Sirigu, A., & Desmurget, M. (2012). Mapping Motor Representations in the Human Cerebellum. A Journal Of Neurology, 136(1), 330. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aws186

Phillips, J., Hewedi, D., Eissa, A., & Moustafa, A. (2015). The Cerebellum and Psychiatric Disorders. Frontiers In Public Health, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00066

VanPutte, C., Regan, J., Russo, A., & Seeley, R. (2019). Seeley’s Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology (12th ed., pp. 439-445). McGraw-Hill Education.

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You may choose a structure in the nervous system. If it is part of the brain, tell us what it does and what would happen if it were not functioning correctly. If it is a cranial nerve, tell us whether it is sensory, motor, mixed, somatic, autonomic, or both, what it does, and specifically, what would happen if it were damaged. “The patient would die” is not specific!!

When you use sources other than the book, put everything in your own words in simple terms and give your sources. These questions are first come, first served! Please do not duplicate your classmates’ answers.

The cerebellum is the topic chosen.