Eye Movement Disorders Associated with Cerebellar Diseases

The cerebellum both receives and sends impulses to the spinal cord, brain stem and cerebrum, and, thereby, apparently modulates neural activity within these areas. Additional evidence that the cerebellum functions as a controller unit rather than an initiator of responses is suggested by the intricate, stereotyped interconnections of the climbing and mossy fiber afferents upon neurons in the folia of the cerebellar cortex. Presumably, the cerebellum has a similar servomechanistic function on one or more of the various types of eye movements. Not surprisingly then, diseases that cause cerebellar malfunction are associated with a variety of eye movement abnormalities. These include disorders in gaze-holding, smooth pursuit and saccades along with oscillatory phenomena.