The cerebellum and visually controlled movements

The author reviews some of the data from human and animal models pointing to a critical role for the cerebellum in the control of visually-guided movements. There are now several contrasting theories that suggest what this role may be, evidence from functional imaging, lesion studies, anatomy, and computational modelling supports the theory that the cerebellum forms a forward model of the motor system. This may be used for control (as suggested by the 'Smith predictor' hypothesis); it may also underlie a cerebellar role in co-ordination, motor planning and in predicting the sensory consequences of movements.