Cerebellum

• the cerebellum contains over half of the neurons in the brain, it is involved with balance and fine coordination of movement. to do this, the cerebellum must receive information from many sensory receptors and process the information accurately. the sensory receptors that supply information to the cerebellum include the retina, balance organs in the inner ear, and spindle fibers in the muscles which give information about muscle length and the joints.
• the conscious decision to contract voluntary muscles is initiated in the cerebral cortex. however, the cerebral cortex doesnt provide the complex signals required to coordinate complex movements. The cerebellum does that instead, for example:

  • maintaining body position and balance, like when riding a bike
  • judging the position of objects and limbs when moving or playing sports
  • tensioning muscles in order to use tools or play musical instruments effectively.
  • coordinating contraction and relaxation of antagonistic skeletal muscles when walking and running.
• The cerebellum requires learning in order for the coordination of complex movements. once learned, such activities may become second nature and involve much unconscious thought. this sort of coordination requires complex nervous pathways. the nervous pathways are strengthened by practice. the complex activity becomes programmed into the cerebellum and neurones from the cerebellum conduct action potentials to the motor areas so that motor output to the effectors can be finely controlled.
• The cerebellum and cerebrum are connected by the pons