The Cerebellum: Structure, Functional Theories, and Implications in Neuropsychological Disorder and Disease

This writing explores the structural and functional characteristics of the cerebellum, emphasizing its highly specific closed-loop architecture that plays a crucial role in various motor and cognitive processes. The cerebellum utilizes internal models to predict and process sensory events, coordinating appropriate responses to the dynamic environment. Through well-organized connections, it performs a universal cerebellar transform (UCT) and maintains behavior around a homeostatic baseline subconsciously. Dysfunction of the cerebellum, often from cerebellar lesions, may lead to dysmetria, particularly dysmetria of thought (DoT), and present cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). CCAS patients can often develop symptoms of altered regulation of mood and personality, psychotic thinking, and other behaviors that meet the criteria for various diagnoses of disorders such as ASD, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and fear disorders. This thesis includes descriptions of the cerebellar irregularities observed in each disorder, as well as discussions on how cerebellar stimulation can alleviate symptoms and deficits associated with these disorders, showing a psychiatric opportunity and potential for the cerebellum in new treatment methods. Lastly, the cerebellum is examined to follow a disease-specific atrophic pattern across various types of dementia, presenting a promising potential use of the cerebellum as a diagnostic tool.