Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evolution Of The Cerebellar Cortex: The Selective Expansion Of Prefrontal-Projecting Cerebellar Lobules, J. H. Balsters, E. Cussans, J. Diedrichsen, Kimberley A. Phillips, T. M. Preuss, J. K. Rilling, N. Ramnani

Psychology Faculty Research

It has been suggested that interconnected brain areas evolve in tandem because evolutionary pressures act on complete functional systems rather than on individual brain areas. The cerebellar cortex has reciprocal connections with both the prefrontal cortex and motor cortex, forming independent loops with each. Specifically, in capuchin monkeys cerebellar cortical lobules Crus I and Crus II connect with prefrontal cortex, whereas the primary motor cortex connects with cerebellar lobules V, VI, VIIb, and VIIIa. Comparisons of extant primate species suggest that the prefrontal cortex has expanded more than cortical motor areas in human evolution. Given the enlargement of the prefrontal …