The cerebellum may do a lot more than just coordinate movement
Connections from the ‘little brain’ are linked to social behavior, a study in mice finds
Its name means “little brain” in Latin, but the cerebellum is anything but. The fist-sized orb at the back of the brain has an outsized role in social interactions, a study in mice suggests.
Once thought to be a relatively simple brain structure that had only one job, coordinating movement, the cerebellum is gaining recognition for being an important mover and shaker in the brain.
Early clinical observations of people with movement disorders pigeonholed the cerebellum, says neuroscientist Kamran Khodakhah of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. But the “cerebellum has more than half of the neurons in your entire brain,” he says. “It never made sense that the only thing it confines itself to do is motor coordination.”