vestibulocerebellum

Oldest of the phylogenetic subdivisions of the cerebellum, the vestibulocerebellum regulates balance and eye movements. Its vestibular input arrives from two sources, the semicircular canals and the vestibular nuclei, and it returns fibres to the medial and lateral vestibular nuclei, forming a closed loop with the vestibular apparatus. It also receives visual input from the superior colliculi and from the visual cortex, the latter reaching it by way of the pontine nuclei along a cortico-ponto-cerebellar pathway. Lesions of this subdivision produce disturbances of balance and gait, a deficit pattern that follows directly from its vestibular connections. Its alternative designation, archaeocerebellum, records its phylogenetic position.