Emiliano Bruner, paleoneurologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has collaborated in an article which has just been published in the prestigious journal Brain on the cerebellum and Alzheimer's disease, which reassesses the clinical and neurobiological data which link this condition with that element of our encephalon, a relationship which up to now had not been duly evaluated.

he fact that the cerebellum suffers the ravages of this neurodegenerative illness could be a side effect of the disease, or alternatively, it could be of more specific importance in the process of degeneration or in its clinical consequences.

The cerebellum has four times as many neurons as there are in the brain, and its functions continue to be fairly unknown. Its anterior areas regulate the motor control of the body, while the posterior areas are involved in complex cognitive functions and in the emotions.

The article, entitled “The cerebellum in Alzheimer’s disease: evaluating its role in cognitive decline” was coordinated by Heidi Jacobs, of the University of Maastricht, in collaboration with six other international research centers.