Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 688, 1 January 2019, Pages 37-40
Neuroscience Letters

Review article
The cerebellum as a movement sensor

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2018.06.055Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We review studies of cerebellum-dependent human behaviors.

  • We review studies of many movement types, including eye movements, reaching, and gait.

  • We discuss how these studies fit within the interpretation that the cerebellum is a sensory prediction mechanism.

Abstract

In this article, we review a broad range of studies of cerebellar function and dysfunction and interpret them within the framework that the cerebellum acts as part of a mechanism of predictive control. We describe studies that span human behaviour and consider the motor and sensory impairments that result from cerebellar damage. We conclude that a parsimonious explanation of cerebellar function is as a predictor of the sensory outcomes of movement. However, future studies are needed to more rigorously test this hypothesis and determine how the cerebellar circuit might perform this type of computation.

Introduction

The cerebellum’s role in regulating movement has been known since early descriptions of the motor impairments that result from its damage [1]. Since these initial observations, many studies have tried to understand the precise function of cerebellar computations in the motor control system. However, in recent years a hypothesis has emerged that the cerebellum may function as a type of movement sensor. Specifically, its role may lie in generating adaptable, predictive estimates of the sensory consequences of motor output that provide rapid internal feedback signals to the motor system. In this review, we summarize the theory behind this hypothesis and show how impairments to internal sensory prediction could provide a mechanism for the symptoms of cerebellar damage.

Section snippets

Sensory prediction improves movement control

Accurate movement control requires that the motor system has access to information about the outcome of its commands. This is necessary to determine whether a desired movement goal or body state is achieved and, if not, alter commands accordingly. The obvious source of this information is sensory feedback from the periphery. However, relying solely on sensory feedback would result in poor movement control because delays inherent in the transport and processing of sensory information would yield

The cerebellum as a sensory predictor: evidence from humans with cerebellar damage

Many have hypothesized that the cerebellum is required for forward model predictions to be formed. Indeed, studies of the effects of cerebellar damage in humans have provided substantial evidence in support of this. Broadly, cerebellar damage presents as impaired motor coordination affecting all the body effectors – a condition called ataxia. More specifically, poor coordination from cerebellar damage reflects a combination of dysmetria (i.e. over- or under-shooting of desired movement

Conclusions

The cerebellum has been known to play an integral role in sensorimotor control since the early 19th century. Numerous studies have tried to understand the precise function of cerebellar computations in the motor control system. However, many findings are beginning to support the idea that the cerebellum can be thought of as a type of movement sensor. That is, it may function to generate predictions of the sensory consequences that will result from a given motor command. These predictions,

Acknowledgements

Supported by NIH R01 HD040289 (AJB) and The Johns Hopkins Science of Learning Postdoctoral Fellowship (AST).

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