THE CEREBELLUM AS COMPARATOR - INCREASES IN CEREBELLAR ACTIVITY DURING MOTOR LEARNING MAY REFLECT ITS ROLE AS PART OF AN ERROR DETECTION CORRECTION MECHANISM/

The role of the cerebellum as a comparator of desired motor output and actual performance may be most important during learning of a novel m otor task, when movement errors are common and corrective movements ar e produced to compensate for them. It is suggested that PET and recent fMRI data are compatible with such an interpretation. Increased activ ity in motor cortical areas during motor learning indicates that these areas also contribute to the learning process.