Cerebellar Localization

Unlike the doctrine of cerebral localization, which was founded on direct experimental evidence, the motor responses being obtained on stimulation of the cerebrum, the theory of cerebellar localization was evolved through studies in embryology and comparative anatomy. It was first formulated, in 1903, by the Dutch anatomist Bolk1who, from a study of the cerebellum in numerous types of mammals, deduced the theory that the developmental variations of its different lobules bear a relationship to the various muscle complexes in the body. It is obvious that the theory requires for its verification experimental proof. The theory also presupposes that the function of the cerebellum is to coordinate muscle groups in their synergistic action. This is a supposition which is still subject to dispute, a point raised by Van Rynberk.2 PREVIOUS METHODS OF STUDYING CEREBELLAR LOCALIZATION Stimulation Experiments. —The striking success that has attended the electric method of excitation