The Human Cerebellum as a Hub of the Predictive Brain

Abstract

Although the cerebellum has long been believed to be involved uniquely in sensorimotor processes, recent research works pointed to its participation in a wide range of cognitive predictive functions. Here, we review the available evidence supporting a generalized role of the cerebellum in predictive computation. We then discuss the anatomo-physiological properties that make the cerebellum the ideal hub of the predictive brain. We further argue that cerebellar involvement in cognition may follow a continuous gradient, with higher cerebellar activity occurring for tasks relying more on predictive processes, and outline the empirical scenarios to probe this hypothesis.

The Predictive Role of the Posterior Cerebellum in the Processing of Dynamic Emotions

“…In fact, it is possible that this mechanism is part of the already-known cerebellar operational models constantly engaged in the rapid adjustment of social predictions based on dynamic environmental information, which are presumably at the root of the understanding of other individuals’ social and emotional behaviors during interactions [ 18 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 92 – 94 ]. In our opinion, these findings support the recent idea of the cerebellum as the central coordinator of the structures involved in the “predictive brain” [ 80 , 91 ]. Finally, the present study showed that ctRNS is a useful technique for altering the activity of the cerebellum, although further studies are needed to better understand the dimensions and directionality of such alterations, as well as the existence of such a putative mechanism of predictive “sequence detection,” specifically involved in the emotional processing of negative facial expressions.…”

“…More specifically, cerebellar operational models and circuits would detect and anticipate the presence of temporal and spatial patterns from physical cues, make accurate predictions of prospective outcomes on the basis of these cues, and prepare to respond accordingly [ 15 , 23 , 80 – 86 ]. Within this framework, it has been suggested that the operational mode of the cerebellum in prediction and anticipation processes—even beyond the motor domain—is a time-related “sequence detection” [ 15 , 80 , 82 , 87 – 91 ]. The cerebellar automatic mechanism of prediction (i.e., generating expectations) and anticipation (i.e., preparing for future events) of sequences, as well as the rapid adjustment of such predictions based on dynamic environmental information, would be one of the leading processes underlying the understanding of other individuals’ behaviors and mental states during social interactions [ 18 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 88 , 92 – 94 ].…”

Resting state brain subnetwork relates to prosociality and compassion in adolescents

“…Furthermore, it has been found that the posterior regions, especially Crus 1 and 2, are most involved in these mentalizing/abstraction processes ( Van Overwalle et al, 2014 ; Guell and Schmahmann, 2020 ), which aligns well with their appearance in the identified subnetwork. A growing interpretation for the cerebellum’s general role is as a hub for predictive processing ( Sokolov et al, 2017 ; Gatti et al, 2021 ) that generates forward internal models and action sequences ( Tanaka et al, 2020 ).…”

Multi-task Learning with Modular Reinforcement Learning

“…Growing evidence from behavioral and biological neuroscience notes that most animals' brain parses ongoing behavior into discrete, bound segments [5]. Specifically, internal models in separated areas of the cerebellum are responsible for given tasks via a competitive and cooperative way [14,1].…”