Babinski's contributions to cerebellar symptomatology: Building the basis of the neurological examination

Abstract

Several assumptions about the function of the cerebellum and semiotic signs have been described over the centuries. Among the long list of famous researchers who have provided a strong contribution and who have left their names on the highway of cerebellar research, Joseph Babinski appears as a prominent name. The description of various forms of cerebellar symptomatology was a major part of Babinski's work, and clinical terms that he introduced, namely hypermetry, diadochokinesia, and asynergy, remain part of contemporary clinical vocabulary. Babinski studied cerebellar signs in many patients and was able to conduct longitudinal studies that permitted him to understand the evolution of cerebellar dysfunction. Babinski contributions to cerebellar symptomatology continue to influence the most modern theories, inclu ding functional and neuropathological studies.