Underlying the carver’s experience sensorimotor modulation in the cerebellum when carving wood

Abstract

Woodcarvers often report their experiences as having an intense internal focus, and a feeling of a close connection to the material. This article explores the key processes in cells and organs that underlie these experiences, emphasising sensorimotor modulation in the cerebellum. The article has two aims: to bring neurobiological knowledge into the making disciplines to better understand the making process and to mediate the terminological differences between disciplines and develop new research-based hypotheses and theoretical foundations for future interdisciplinary studies. The findings include three topics for further exploration: 1) the overflow of information in the cerebellum and the maker’s experience of intense internal focus; 2) the cerebellum’s function as a generator of deliberate actions without involving the conscious self, and the preconscious element of the maker’s negotiation; and 3) the priority of neural circuits between sensory input and motor output in the cerebellum at the cost of neural circuits to the cerebral cortex’s monitoring and self-reflection and the maker’s experience as being close to the material. These findings expand upon previous knowledge developed in studies investigating making processes from a sociocultural and philosophical point of view, and they are useful for researchers and teachers interested in understanding and advancing the making disciplines and arts and crafts education.