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What does the cerebellum do?

sarahconstantin.substack.com

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Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#191

Post by pests »

ChainOfFools wrote: post #68
cubefox wrote: post #12

So classical conditioning in humans requires special cells in the Cerebellum (Purkinje cells), which can even do single-cell learning. Which artificial neurons can't do, as only weights (artificial synapses) are updated. So how is classical conditioning actually implemented in artificial neural networks? I assume there is some minimum network which makes it work.

> special cells in the Cerebellum (Purkinje cells), which can even do single-cell learning. As a neuroscience novice, I've always assumed that something about the gross model of the neuron, as far as I understand it, cannot be correct or is incomplete. Because I never understood why single cells aren't already performing single cell learning, given that there are always far more dendrites than axons. Since this chara…

I think it's possible. When you get down to the biology and chemistry the electrical action potential driving all this results in ion channels opening and closing on both sides to pass on the signal. I totally believe individual dendrite-axon connections can lose or gain strength over time based on an optimization of the efficiency of these ion channels.

I think this is above and beyond a simple mathematical weight and the nueron structures around these dendrite-axon pathways change or express their genes differently over time.

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#192

Post by helboi4 »

altruios wrote: post #160
helboi4 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure about that. Being unable to anticipate context sounds terrible for pretty much any task. Having to think through every step of anything is terrible. Not being able to form sentences fluently and instead having to arrange them like puzzles is far too time consuming. The article literally is explaining how a large cerebellum is crucial for humans' high intelligence. Reallocating resources to other parts of…

Having no context does allow for a fresh perspective... Having to think things through slowly step by step may reveal errors other's glossed over... the cerebellum is important. But maybe, since we really know less about the brain than we think we do, differently wired does not equate 'stupider'. It takes all sorts to make a world. I agree with the language part, tedious... but maybe in certain situations it might be…

I mean yes, people with disabilities often have a unique contribution to offer and a unique perspective. They often excel at very specific things. However, implying that it is so advantageous to be disabled that we would all evolve to be that way is ridiculous. Thinking things through slowly step by step may reveal errors others have glossed over...But it's perfectly possible for someone without a severe disability to do that. Meanwhile, the person with minimal to no cerebellum is totally incapable of stepping up to the task when, like a lot of the time, speed and intuition is important. If I wasn't able to rely on context and intuition at all I wouldn't be able to do my job, or even day to day tasks, with enough efficiency to get anything done. Furthermore, someone without a cerebellum will also have to learn to not smash themselves in the face when they're trying to eat and have to deal with constant sensory processing issues. This is not advantageous. It's a disability. So it's not going to be picked up by natural selection.

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#193

Post by hoseja »

AngaraliTurk wrote: post #137
hoseja wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard to imagine two objects in the vehicle-ground-interface conceptual space much farther away from one another than feet and wheels.

Try to spend more time imagining and entertaining that thought. They both have the same function but execute it differently.

I did. They still don't have anything in common other than being means to locomotion across the ground. Unlike, f.e. cameras that are directly inspired by the eye, airplane wings being directly inspired by bird wings. Wheels are not directly inspired by anything biological, they are probably invented from log-bearings for easier dragging of heavy things across ground.

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#194

Post by alan-hn »

I'm a little confused by the statement of the author:

"Are cerebellar Purkinje cells the only individual neurons capable of single-cell learning?"

What he described is definitely not single cell learning, it is normal long term depression caused by specific inputs

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#195

Post by alan-hn »

codeflo wrote: post #145
akavi wrote: post #81

This is fascinating to me. The list of things the author suggests the cerebellum handles is a tailor-made list of things I'm oddly bad at: 1. I'm very uncoordinated, with a noticeable intentional tremor 2. I'm particularly bad at sequencing dependencies for projects/errands/household tasks. I have to write down even fairly simple sequences of subtasks or get lost in yak-shaving loops 3. When flustered, I make very di…

I thought that the list of cognitive impairments sounds like a laundry list of ASD symptoms, and indeed, at least some researchers seem to believe that there's a connection between Autism and cerebellum dysfunction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677555/

Shank3 is a scaffolding protein highly associated with deficits seen in ASD, it is highly expressed in cerebellar granule cells

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#196

Post by katherinebhana »

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Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#198

Post by nickpsecurity »

pests wrote: post #190
riversflow wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> God made human babies superior in design from birth by giving them increased adaptability. Holy assumptions batman. Homo sapiens aren't "superior", that's a terrible starting place for a hypothesis. There are plenty of metrics a human will never beat other species. Reaction time is a great starting place.

Sure, but which species is sitting here having a conversation about it?

The apex predators of the Earth who are in control of it using their brains that nothing else can match. They also regularly contemplate this using their morals, imaginations, and reasoning. Definitely far above the rest.

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#199

Post by nextaccountic »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #155
timeagain wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn’t matter if you live to 55 or 95 if you have some kids when you’re 25.

I don't think that's correct; raising your kids - and potentially involvement with grandkids! - impacts long term results.

In this same sense, people with no children can still help raise relatives, provide for them, or otherwise contribute for the long term success of their extended family, and thus indirectly spread their genes

Re: What does the cerebellum do?

#200

Post by trealira »

pests wrote: post #190
riversflow wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> God made human babies superior in design from birth by giving them increased adaptability. Holy assumptions batman. Homo sapiens aren't "superior", that's a terrible starting place for a hypothesis. There are plenty of metrics a human will never beat other species. Reaction time is a great starting place.

Sure, but which species is sitting here having a conversation about it?

Why does that imply superiority?

It's like you're saying "We humans are the smartest in the world. Smarter animals are better than other animals, so we're better than all other animals."

A giraffe may just as well believe "We giraffes have the longest necks in the world. Animals with longer necks are better than others, so we're better than all other animals."

"Intelligence" itself is not well defined anyway. It may as well mean thinking like a human.

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