Anatomy of the cerebellum and the role played in normal cerebellar function). From the phylogenetically oldest to the newest, the three parts are: Much of what is understood about the functions of the cerebellum stems from careful documentation of the effects of focal lesions in human patients who have suffered from injury or disease or through animal lesion research. As explained in more detail in the Function section, the cerebellum differs from most other brain areas in that the flow of neural signals through it is almost entirely unidirectional: there are virtually no backward connections between its neuronal elements. Thus the most logical way
Anatomy of the cerebellum pathway transmits signals that inform the cerebellum about the movement in progress and the upcoming movement. This helps the continuous adjustment of motor activity. The initiation of the movement is relayed to cerebellum via the corticoreticulocerebellar pathway. Those synapse ipsilaterally in the reticular formation, then via the inferior and middle peduncles into the cerebellar vermis. The motor cortex and somatosensory cortex projects onto the ipsilateral inferior and accessory olivary nuclei, then forming the olivocerebellar tract. Cortico-olivary fibers synapse bilaterally in the inferior olivary nucleus. The order is preserved in the olivocerebellar tract projections onto the ‘body maps’ in the contralateral