Subcortical Structures
and Cognition

Chapter 11

The Cerebellum in Neuropsychological Testing

 

This chapter examines the influence of the cerebellum on neuropsychological test performance.

There are no cognitive tests that are sensitive to cerebellar pathology only. However, while involvement of motor regions of the cerebellum typically results in a disturbance in the quality of movement, involvement of cognitive and affective regions of the cerebellum is often evident in a disturbance in the quality of cognitive response on neuropsychological tests.

The cases presented feature suspected cerebellar pathology and demonstrate how clinical history, test scores, and quality of test responses can be integrated to support a conclusion of cerebellar involvement. However, since neuropsychological test data are influenced by three brain-related sources of variability (cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum), test results need to be described in descriptive cognitive and behavioral terms rather than anatomically.