ACTIVATION OF A CEREBELLAR OUTPUT NUCLEUS DURING COGNITIVE PROCESSING

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine the involvement of the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum in cognitive operations. All seven p eople examined displayed a large bilateral activation in the dentate d uring their attempts to solve a pegboard puzzle. The area activated wa s three to four times greater than that activated during simple moveme nts of the pegs. These results provide support for the concept that th e computational power of the cerebellum is applied not only to the con trol of movement but also to cognitive functions.