The cerebellum, or little brain, sits at the back of the skull beneath the occipital lobes. Although it makes up only about 10 percent of brain volume, it contains more than half of all the brain's neurons. It fine-tunes movement, balance and posture and plays a role in motor learning and some aspects of thinking and language.
| Location | Posterior cranial fossa, behind the pons and medulla, separated from the cerebrum by the tentorium cerebelli, forming the roof of the fourth ventricle |
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| Parts |
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| Connections | |
| Blood Supply | Superior cerebellar artery; Anterior inferior cerebellar artery; Posterior inferior cerebellar artery |
Coordinates the timing, force and accuracy of movements, maintains balance and posture, controls eye movements and supports motor learning and some cognitive functions.
Cerebellar damage causes problems on the same side of the body: ataxia, intention tremor, dysmetria (overshooting), slurred speech and nystagmus. Cerebellar stroke or haemorrhage can swell and compress the brainstem and fourth ventricle within hours, requiring urgent decompression. Alcohol commonly damages the anterior vermis, causing a wide-based unsteady gait.
Infarction or haemorrhage causing vertigo, vomiting, ataxia and headache, with a risk of life-threatening swelling in the posterior fossa.
Atrophy of the superior vermis from chronic alcohol use, causing a broad-based, unsteady gait with relatively spared arm coordination.
A malignant childhood tumour usually arising in the vermis, causing ataxia and obstructive hydrocephalus.
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