Answer
Up until the late '70s it was believed that the functions of the cerebellum were to monitor muscle contractions and to help in motor coordination.
Work Step by Step
Currently it is known that the cerebellum is a much more complex structure with many significant roles in perception, and neural control/regulation.
The cerebellum has a role in evaluation of certain kinds of sensory inputs; for instance, it facilitates the comparing of and differentiation between textures touched by fingertips. It is also a timekeeper that facilitates judging of time elapsed between two events or two stimuli. Other abilities conferred by cerebellar function include the following:
The ability to predict where a moving object will be, second to second
The capacity to judge differences in pitch
Perception and production of certain language units(phonemes and morphemes)
Planning and scheduling
Finally, the cerebellum has a role in impulse control; damage to the cerebellum results in impaired impulse control. Some patients with hyperactivity disorders have abnormal cerebellums.
