The missing link: evolution of the primate cerebellum.
The cerebellum has too often been seen as the "little brain," subservient to the "big brain," the cerebrum. That is changing, as neuroimaging uncovers the cerebellum as the "missing link" in the neurological underpinnings of many cognitive domains. Connections between the neocortex and the cerebellum are now more precisely defined, with functionally localized areas of cerebellar cortex understood for cognitive tasks in humans. Comparative volumetric studies of the primate cerebellum have isolated some elements of circuitry, and our field is moving toward a better integration with the neurosciences in a systematic comparative framework. The next decade may show great advances, as relatively noninvasive techniques of neuroimaging have the potential to build a comparative model of the evolution of primate neurocircuitry.
Department of Anthropology, Langara College, Vancouver, BC, Canada. cmacleod@langara.bc.ca
Carol
C
MacLeod
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D011323:Primates / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*