Review article
The role of the cerebellum in control of cognitive functions – neuropsychological perspective

The cerebellum was typically connected with motor functions of human movements, especially coordination, balance, and plasticity. In 1998 Schmahmann and Shermann described a neurobehavioral syndrome after cerebellum damage, which markedly extended beyond simple motor dysfunctions and incorporates such cognitive problems as executive dysfunctions, visual-spatial disturbances, mood disturbances and language impairment. The authors termed these emotional-cognitive difficulties cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS).

According to the results of the research (years 1998-2012) the article characterizes the role of the cerebellum in the regulation of cognitive functions, which are parts of CCAS. Damage of the right cerebellar hemisphere causes language problems: agrammatism, depressed verbal fluency tasks, dynamic aphasia. Lesions of the left cerebellar hemisphere are correlated with dysfunctions of visuospatial skills. The cerebellum plays an important role in memory processes (procedural learning and verbal working memory) as well as in executive dysfunctions (planning, set-shifting and mental plasticity impairment). The lesions of particular parts of the cerebellum are connected with cognitive dysfunctions typical for these which are observed in cerebral damage (especially frontal and parietal cortical parts). This confirms the functional role of the cerebello-cortical loops in cognitive processes. Patients with cerebellar lesions should have neuropsychological diagnosis and cognitive rehabilitation.