Music and the Cerebellum

Abstract

The cerebellum is involved in almost all cognitive functions related to music perception and music production. This has been shown by functional imaging and by similar techniques. In addition, lesion studies (i.e. examining patients with cerebellar infarction or tumour) also give evidence of this involvement. Different parts of the cerebellum have been identified for different aspects of these processing tasks and their individual connections to the cerebral cortex as well as to the basal ganglia. It has been shown for example that cerebellar disorders impair music perception in particular in melody comparison and metrum tasks. First research approaches are trying to use the current knowledge on the role of the cerebellum in music perception for therapeutic processes in degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.