CEREBELLAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO INSTRUMENTAL LEARNING

There is emerging evidence that the cerebellum is involved in spatial and nonspatial instrumental learning tasks. Cerebellar-lesioned animals have deficits in water maze learning tasks that may be explained by two-way interactions with higher order brain regions. There is suggestive evidence that cerebellar modulation extends to shock avoidance and discrimination learning. Although this evidence needs to be confirmed by a wider range of lesion methods and choice of learning tasks, it is in line with the hypothesis that the cerebellum affects cognitive processes and is not strictly concerned with motor control and the acquisition and retention of conditioned reflexes.