1. The Brain: The Cerebellum
By: Olivia Parker, Valerie Vargas, Jonathan Willis, Jacklyn Palacios, Emily Herberg

2. Location of the Cerebellum
Located at the bottom toward the back of the brain (touches brain stem)
Important but very small (tenth of the weight in proportion to whole brain)
Holds half the brain neurons
maps/cerebellum

3. What are the functions of the cerebellum?
The cerebellum receives information from the sensory systems, spinal cord, and other parts of the brain.
Functions:
-Responsible for muscle coordination and smoothing out movement
-Maintenance of balance, equilibrium
-motor learning
-Cognitive learning

4. How Can the Cerebellum Become Damaged
There are many different ways the cerebellum can become damaged:
Traumatic brain injury
Alcohol abuse
Some forms of cancer
A lot of the damage happens because of blood flow interruption to that part of the brain.
common-causes-of-cerebellum-damage.htm

5. There are also a number of degenerative diseases and progressive disorders that can cause damage to the cerebellum.
Multiple Sclerosis
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
Acute and hemorrhagic strokes
Cerebellar cortical atrophy
degeneration

6. What happens when the cerebellum gets damaged?
No motor coordination
Cerebellitis
Severity depends on how much tissue has been damaged
Movement tremors
Gait abnormality

7. How can drugs affect the cerebellum? (Valerie Vargas)
Cerebellum’s response to a drug is how movement is affected
Cerebellum has many THC receptors
Mixing marijuana with alcohol can also affect movement
Alcohol can affect movement temporarily
Chronic consumption of alcohol can lead to long term effects
Consuming alcohol during pregnancy can affect baby’s cerebellum (Alcohol and Cerebellum)

9. Living without the cerebellum
One woman suffered from nausea and dizziness
She discovered she was missing her cerebellum
She has trouble with walking steadily
She had speech problems until she was six
The missing cerebellum is instead filled with “cerebrospinal fluid”

10. Testing for a damaged cerebellum
Nerve Conduction Study
Electromyography (EMG)
Spinal Tap
Complete Blood Count
CT/MRI Scan
Urinalysis
Ultrasound

11. Treating a damaged cerebrum
Surgery
Antibiotics (infectious cause)
Blood Thinners (stroke cause)
Medications