Multiple tactile maps in the human cerebellum

Functional imaging studies of the cerebellum have mostly investigated motor performance or have been limited to the anterior lobe and therefore the somatosensory representations in the human cerebellum have not been fully demonstrated. We used flMRI of the entire cerebellum during tactile stimulation of the hand and foot in six normal subjects. Our results demonstrate that the tactile projections to the cerebellum in humans are represented in both the anterior and posterior lobes. in agreement with previous functional imaging studies, our results show a large-scale, between-limb somatotopy comparable to that shown in early animal studies. NeuroReport 12:2483-2486 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.