The cerebellum is only responsible for motor functions.
No way – researchers are discovering previously unknown functions of the cerebellum.
Among other things, it is about feelings and memories.
The human brain and how it works has not yet been fully explored.
Researchers are still finding new insights.
A team from the University of Basel recently discovered that the cerebellum has more to do with thinking and feeling than previously thought.
The result of the study was published in the journal PNAS.
By the way, if you want to support your brain, then mint is a good idea, it will boost your long-term memory.
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The cerebellum has more functions than previously thought.
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The cerebellum can do more than just motor skills
Until now, the human cerebellum was known to control movement.
But that's only part of what the cerebellum does.
In a study with 1,418 participants, those responsible showed that the cerebellum also plays a role in storing and remembering emotional experiences.
Memories are actually stored in brain structure amygdala.
The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, which in turn help to store positive and negative experiences.
This is important, for example, when recognizing dangerous situations.
Feelings activate the amygdala and this then favors storage of memory in different areas of the cerebrum.
Recent study shows the work of the cerebellum
For the current study, the participants were shown emotional and neutral images.
While the images were viewed, brain activity was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
It turned out that images that transport emotions - positive and negative - are better remembered than neutral images.
In images that contained emotions, the researchers could see better activation of the cerebrum in the areas they were already familiar with.
However, they also recognized an activation of the cerebellum.
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Emotions allow the cerebellum to communicate with the cerebrum
When people look at images with emotional value, different areas of the brain are activated.
The researchers were able to show that the cerebellum communicates with different areas of the cerebrum.
For example, the cerebellum receives information from the cingulate gyrus—the part of the cerebrum responsible for sensing and evaluating emotions.
The cerebellum also communicates with the brain structure, the amygdala (responsible for processing emotions) and the hippocampus.
This is responsible for the storage in the memory.
If you want to find out which hemisphere is more active in you, then you don't need an MRI, you can test that using an illusion.
Study director classifies the results
Professor.
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Dominique de Quervain conducted the study with a team, he classifies the results in a press release as follows: "The present results indicate that the cerebellum is an integral part of a network that is responsible for the improved storage of emotional information." This is then also the basis of findings for clinical pictures from psychology.
For example, the findings are crucial for understanding post-traumatic stress disorders.
Because a good memory not only protects against dangers, but can also promote anxiety.
This could show up as an overactive cerebellum.
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