Modern Discoveries in Neuroscience... And What They Reveal About You (Collection)

17. Cognitive Functions

17-1. Introduction

In Chapter 16, “Motor Actions and Tool Use,” we examined the roles of the cerebellum in the control of complex motor actions in primates. We are now ready to extend our consideration to an even higher level of control; that for mental activity in humans. There is an increasing body of evidence (both experimental and theoretical) that supports the presumed unique roles of the cerebellum in our thought processes in which we manipulate ideas and concepts instead of moving body parts.

17-2. Neural Systems for Thought

Here, we conceive a neural system for mental activities as an analogy of that for voluntary motor control and action control (Chapters 13–16). First, the prefrontal cortex is postulated to be ...