Cerebellar Internal Models: Implications for the Dexterous Use of Tools

Humans have remarkable abilities in the dexterous use of tools to extend their physical capabilities. Although previous neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging studies have mainly focused on the contribution of frontal-parietal cerebral networks to skills for tool use, dense anatomical and functional connections are known to exist between the frontal-parietal regions and the lateral cerebellum, suggesting that the cerebellum also supports the information processing necessary for the dexterous use of tools. In this article, we review functional and structural imaging studies reporting that the cerebellum is related to the learning acquisition of neural mechanisms representing input-output properties of controlled objects, including tools. These studies also suggest that such mechanisms are modularly organized in the cerebellum corresponding to the different properties of objects, such as kinematic or dynamic properties and types of tools, and that they enable humans to flexibly cope with discrete changes in objects and environments by reducing interference and combining acquired modules. Based on these studies, we propose a hypothesis that the cerebellum contributes to the skillful use of tools by representing the input-output properties of tools and providing information on the prediction of the sensory consequences of manipulation with the parietal regions, which are related to multisensory processing, and information on the necessary control of tools with the premotor regions, which contribute to the control of hand movements.