Cerebellum size while the cerebrum decreased in size With both the development and implementation of motor tasks, visual-spatial skills and learning taking place in the cerebellum, the growth of the cerebellum is thought to have some form of correlation to greater human cognitive abilities. The lateral hemispheres of the cerebellum are now 2.7 times greater in both humans and apes than they are in monkeys. These changes in the cerebellum size cannot be explained by greater muscle mass. They show that either the development of the cerebellum is tightly linked to that of the rest of the brain or that neural
Anatomy of the cerebellum cerebellar cortex. Under resting conditions in animal experiments, groups of olivary neurons discharge synchronously at 5 to 10 Hz (impulses/s). In the cerebellar cortex, the response of Purkinje cells takes the form of complex spikes. The cerebellum send its projections back to the cerebral cortex via the Cerebellothalamic tract. The cerebellar lateral expansion, or the neocerebellum, may be associated with cognitive functions, and it is anatomically linked with the lateral prefrontal cortex. It shows greatest activity during speech, with a one-sided predominance consistent with a possible linkage (via the thalamus) with the motor speech area. When lesions occur in the