The cerebellum and its contribution to complex tasks in higher primates: A comparative perspective

Many aspects of the involvement of the cerebellum in motor control and cognition are still quite unclear or relatively unexplored. In particular, very little is known about the evolution of cerebellar contribution to complex behavior in higher primate species. In this paper, we provide an overview of existing and ongoing comparative studies of the role of the cerebellum in primate behavior. In particular, we discuss evidence that great apes show greater cerebellar relative size than monkeys and that such interspecific difference is mainly explained by growth of the lateral neocerebellum in evolution with converse changes in the vermis. Furthermore, we present evidence that volumetric differences as well as lateral asymmetry of the cerebellum are related to both performance and hand preference for skilled tasks like tool use and aimed throwing. Finally we suggest future directions for this comparative research area that may offer further valuable clues into the involvement of the cerebellum in complex behavior and its evolutionary origin in primate species. (C) 2010 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.