The cerebellum (Latin: little brain) may be small by name, but it has almost 80% of the neurons of the brain, and it is densely connected with both sub-cortical and cortical structures. Yet, in part due to the perceived challenge of monitoring cerebellar activity non-invasively, the cerebellum has attracted little attention in cognitive neuroscience and is often put aside as a locus of motor coordination rather than cognition.

In the RCB-group, we focus on the cerebellum’s role across cognition and the brain, with a special focus on its role in building precise and accurate sensory expectations that humans can rely on for informed behaviour. We investigate not only the role of the cerebellum, but also that of the basal ganglia and the thalamus in building precise and accurate sensory expectations in concurrence with respiration. We do this by investigating both healthy controls and patients, such as patients with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, using a combination of behavioural paradigms, magnetoencephalography (MEG) and recording of local field potentials (LFP) based on deep brain stimulation.

Coordinator: Lau Møller Andersen