How does the cerebellum contribute to cognitive functions?

Over the past 70 years, neuroscience has gained a deep understanding of how the cerebellum supports basic motor functions. Anatomical, clinical, and neuroimaging studies, however, have also firmly established that the cerebellum holds an important role in cognition. Even though this topic has received considerable attention, we still do not know the exact nature of this contribution. This Unsolved Mystery reviews known facts about how the cerebellum contributes to cognition and identifies roadblocks that have prevented the development of a unified theory. Addressing these key questions should help the field develop the testable, falsifiable hypotheses that are needed to solve this intriguing question.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
PLoS Biology
Published
2026-03-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003688
Primary Topic
Vestibular and auditory disorders
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

How does the cerebellum contribute to cognitive functions?

Samuel D. McDougle, Jorn Diedrichsen
PLoS Biology
Vestibular and auditory disorders
article

How does the cerebellum contribute to cognitive functions?

Samuel D. McDougle, Jorn Diedrichsen
article en

Abstract

Over the past 70 years, neuroscience has gained a deep understanding of how the cerebellum supports basic motor functions. Anatomical, clinical, and neuroimaging studies, however, have also firmly established that the cerebellum holds an important role in cognition. Even though this topic has received considerable attention, we still do not know the exact nature of this contribution. This Unsolved Mystery reviews known facts about how the cerebellum contributes to cognition and identifies roadblocks that have prevented the development of a unified theory. Addressing these key questions should help the field develop the testable, falsifiable hypotheses that are needed to solve this intriguing question.

PLoS BiologyVol. 24(3)
Openalex Percentile: Top 30%
Vestibular and auditory disorders
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