Researchers Discover A New Function Of The Cerebellum or ‘Little Brain’

Researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have found a new function of the cerebellum or the little brain. A recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has told that the little brain plays a chief role in remembering emotional experiences.
The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain and is mainly responsible for controlling the muscles for balance and movement. It is responsible for storing emotional experiences. Our memory has both positive and negative emotional experiences and is essential for survival. Memories help to remember one dangerous situation to avoid them in the future.
The amygdala is the core of the neural system that plays a role in processing emotions and feelings. Emotions activate the amygdala and store information about various regions of the cerebrum.
In this study, 1,418 participants saw emotional and neutral images using magnetic resonance imaging. The memory test showed that the participants remembered positive and negative images better than neutral images. The positive and negative images increase the brain activity in the cerebellum to store the desired information. The cerebellum sends signals to the amygdala and hippocampus and connects with the cerebrum. The hippocampus plays a central role in memory storage.
In a statement released by the University of Basel, Professor Dominique de Quervain, the results indicate that the cerebellum is an integral component of a network responsible for the improved storage of emotional information. When the memory improves, it can lead to anxiety in the case of negative experiences. The new findings will help to understand psychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.