Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA.
Cerebellum. 2012 Jun;11(2):352-65. doi: 10.1007/s12311-011-0260-7.
Evidence for a role of the human cerebellum in cognitive functions comes from anatomical, clinical and neuroimaging data. Functional neuroimaging reveals cerebellar activation during a variety of cognitive tasks, including language, visual-spatial, executive, and working memory processes. It is important to note that overt movement is not a prerequisite for cerebellar activation: the cerebellum is engaged during conditions which either control for motor output or do not involve motor responses. Resting-state functional connectivity data reveal that, in addition to networks underlying motor control, the cerebellum is part of "cognitive" networks with prefrontal and parietal association cortices. Consistent with these findings, regional differences in activation patterns within the cerebellum are evident depending on the task demands, suggesting that the cerebellum can be broadly divided into functional regions based on the patterns of anatomical connectivity between different regions of the cerebellum and sensorimotor and association areas of the cerebral cortex. However, the distinct contribution of the cerebellum to cognitive tasks is not clear. Here, the functional neuroimaging evidence for cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions is reviewed and related to hypotheses as to why the cerebellum is active during such tasks. Identifying the precise role of the cerebellum in cognition-as well as the mechanism by which the cerebellum modulates performance during a wide range of tasks-remains a challenge for future investigations.
人类小脑在认知功能中的作用的证据来自于解剖学、临床和神经影像学数据。功能神经影像学揭示了小脑在各种认知任务中的激活，包括语言、视觉空间、执行和工作记忆过程。需要注意的是，明显的运动并不是小脑激活的前提条件：小脑在控制运动输出或不涉及运动反应的情况下都会被激活。静息状态功能连接数据显示，除了运动控制的网络之外，小脑还是与前额叶和顶叶联合皮质相关的“认知”网络的一部分。与这些发现一致，根据任务需求，小脑内激活模式的区域差异明显，这表明小脑可以根据小脑不同区域之间的解剖连接模式以及感觉运动和联合大脑皮层区域的模式进行广泛的分区。然而，小脑对认知任务的具体贡献尚不清楚。在这里，我们回顾了功能神经影像学证据，证明小脑参与认知功能，并探讨了小脑在这些任务中活跃的原因假设。确定小脑在认知中的精确作用，以及小脑在广泛的任务中调节表现的机制，仍然是未来研究的挑战。
