Division · one in each half of the brain
Anterior lobe of the cerebellum
The top front part of the cerebellum, keeping your walk and posture smooth.
The anterior lobe is the upper front part of the cerebellum. It gets a steady stream of updates from the spinal cord about where your arms, legs and trunk are and how they are moving. It uses them to keep your muscles at just the right tension and to smooth out walking, standing and reaching. It is one of the areas most harmed by years of heavy drinking.
Where it is
The top front part of the cerebellum, just behind the brainstem and under the back of the big brain. A deep groove called the primary fissure separates it from the posterior lobe behind it.
What it does
Walking and posture
It helps coordinate the rhythm of your legs and keeps your trunk upright while you walk.
Muscle tone
It keeps your muscles at the right resting tension, not too floppy and not too stiff.
Fixing errors on the fly
It compares the movement you planned with live updates from your body and corrects mistakes while the movement is still happening.
A map of the body
Different strips of this lobe look after different body parts, forming a rough map of you.
Think of it as a sound engineer at a mixing desk, constantly nudging the sliders so every muscle plays at just the right volume.
Works with
- Spinal cordNerve pathways from the spinal cord report the position and movement of your limbs here.
- Cerebellar vermisThe middle strip of this lobe is part of the vermis, which looks after your trunk and posture.
- Interposed nucleusIts side strips send their corrections out through this nucleus to adjust arm and leg movements.
- Fastigial nucleusIts middle strip sends balance and posture signals out through this nucleus.
- Posterior lobe of the cerebellumIts bigger neighbor, just behind the primary fissure, handles complex planned movements and even thinking.
When it goes wrong
Heavy drinking
Years of heavy alcohol use often damage the upper front part of the cerebellum. People develop a wide, unsteady walk, while their hands may stay fairly steady.
Unsteady walking
Damage here can cause a staggering, wide-legged walk and poor control of muscle tension.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- Walking heel-to-toe in a straight line, a classic sobriety test, largely checks this lobe and the vermis.
Where the name comes from
"Anterior" is Latin for "more to the front".
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the anterior lobe?
Show the answer
Walking and posture. It helps coordinate the rhythm of your legs and keeps your trunk upright while you walk.
Walking and posture. It helps coordinate the rhythm of your legs and keeps your trunk upright while you walk.
The anterior lobe is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Cerebellum. It belongs to the cerebellum.
Cerebellum. It belongs to the cerebellum.
Which part fits this description? "Like a sound engineer at a mixing desk, constantly nudging the sliders so every muscle plays at just the right volume."
Show the answer
Anterior lobe. It is the anterior lobe. The top front part of the cerebellum, keeping your walk and posture smooth.
Anterior lobe. It is the anterior lobe. The top front part of the cerebellum, keeping your walk and posture smooth.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Consequences of Cerebellar Lesions, Neuroscience, 2nd edition (Purves et al.), NCBI Bookshelf
- Neuroanatomy, Spinocerebellar Dorsal Tract, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
- Neuroanatomy, Cerebellar Dysfunction, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
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