ABOVE: © julia moore, mooreillustrations.com
The cerebellum is a fist-size structure tucked below the cerebral cortex—the part of the brain that we typically attribute to higher-order cognitive processes, including consciousness, language, and memory. Although the cerebellum was traditionally viewed as a center devoted solely to motor coordination, a growing body of research indicates that the structure is also involved in cognition, emotion, and other functions.
![Illustration of the brain's cerebellum Illustration of the brain's cerebellum](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets/articleNo/70349/iImg/47217/180530-web-l.png)
Although the cerebellum appears small from the outside, the structure’s many coral-like branches give it a surface area that is 80 percent of the surface area of the larger cerebral cortex.
![Illustration showing how a cerebellum can be divided into specific regions Illustration showing how a cerebellum can be divided into specific regions](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets/articleNo/70357/iImg/47227/08-22-d2-cerebellum-online-image2-l.png)
Functional MRI studies suggest that the cerebellum can be divided into specific regions linked specifically to motor, cognitive, and emotion-related functions.
![A cross section illustration of a cerebellum A cross section illustration of a cerebellum](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets/articleNo/70349/iImg/47219/08-22-d2-cerebellum-tasks-l.jpg)
The specific mechanisms behind the cerebellum’s multitude of functions remains a mystery, but the orderly arrangement of the neurons within the structure indicate that it may carry out a single computation—or set of computations—that it applies across its many roles.
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