What is the Difference Between Cerebrum and Cerebellum?
The brain is the most complex and advanced part of the human body. It acts as the command center for our entire nervous system. Every information picked up by our body’s sensory organs is processed by the brain, and the necessary information is sent back to the muscles. Every action that takes place inside our body is also controlled by our brain (even our breathing). The human brain has a similar structure to other mammal brains but differs in size.
Our brain weighs around 1.5 kilograms. It contains approximately 86 billion neurons that make up the grey matter. The white matter is made up of billions of axons and dendrites. There exist trillions of synapses that connect our neurons. The human brain is made up of three sections - our forebrain, hindbrain, and midbrain.
The cerebrum, which is the largest part of the human brain, is present in the forebrain. It is further divided into the right hemisphere, left hemisphere, and a total of four lobes. The second largest part of our brains is called the cerebellum. It is located in our hindbrain and is responsible for physical movements and coordination. It is further divided into three lobes.
Cerebrum vs Cerebellum
The cerebrum and cerebellum together constitute the major part of our brain. The cerebrum alone is responsible for 85% of the brain’s weight. It resembles a walnut-like structure. The cerebellum sits closely under the cerebrum in our hindbrain. It is the second-largest part of our brain. Before we differentiate between the cerebrum and cerebellum, let us look at both of them in detail.
Cerebrum
The cerebrum makes up the largest part of the brain and is present in our forebrain. A longitudinal fissure divides the cerebrum lengthwise into two halves called the left and right hemispheres. A further differentiation called the central sulcus divides the two hemispheres into two halves.
These halves contain a lobe each, and they are responsible for some definite functions that are as follows.
Frontal Lobe - It is present at the very front of the brain and is primarily responsible for personality traits and characteristics and also helps in smell procession and recognition.
Parietal Lobe - It helps in establishing spatial relationships and interprets sensation and pain. It is located near the middle part.
Temporal Lobe - It is responsible for short-term memory, speech, and musical rhythm and sits at the sides of each hemisphere.
Occipital Lobe - It is primarily associated with processing vision and is located at the back of the brain.
The cerebrum also contains certain types of neurons.
Sensory neurons are responsible for sensation.
Motor neurons control voluntary and involuntary movements.
Interneurons are nerves that connect with neurons.
Cerebellum
The cerebrum is the largest and very important part of the human brain. It constitutes 80% of total brain weight in a heavily wrinkled cortex. The folded cortex increases the surface area of the brain, thereby increasing the number of neurons. This makes the human brain more efficient than other vertebrates. It is also known to control voluntary movement, intelligence, and memory.
The cerebrum is composed of two types of tissue: gray matter and white matter.
The Gray substance forms the surface of each cerebral hemisphere which is known as the cerebral cortex is involved in processing and recognition.
White matter occupies most of the deeper parts of the brain. It consists of glial cells and myelinated axons that connect different regions of the gray matter.
Cerebellum, which is also called the little brain, is located just below the cerebrum. It is a part of our hindbrain. It is primarily responsible for coordinating voluntary movements. It is also responsible for certain motor functions such as balance, coordination, and posture. The cerebellum consists of a ventricle filled with fluid and a cortex covering the white matter.
It is also further divided into two hemispheres. The main components of the cerebellum are:
Cerebellar Cortex - It is made up of folded tissue that contains most of the neurons present in the cerebellum.
Cerebellar Nuclei - It contains nerve cells that allow information transfer from the cerebellum.
The cerebellum accounts for only 10% of the brain weight but contains most of the neurons(50 - 80%). The lobes present in the cerebellum are:
Anterior Lobe - It is responsible for the sense of the position of one’s own body. It is also called unconscious proprioception.
Posterior Lobe - It plays a significant role in muscle coordination. It inhibits involuntary muscle movements and coordinates voluntary muscle movements.
Flocculonodular Lobe - It helps with coordinating our head and eye movements. It is also responsible for maintaining balance and muscle tone.
The cerebrum and cerebellum differ in their shape, size, structure, and functions. Let us discuss the key points of differences between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
More Differences between Cerebrum and Cerebellum
FAQs on Difference Between Cerebellum And Cerebrum
1. The cerebellum is known to control what part of the body?
The cerebellum behind the brain controls balance, coordination, and fine muscle control such as walking and also to maintain posture and balance.
2. What are the components of a Cerebellum?
The cerebellum is just below the cerebrum and situated behind the upper part of the brain stem which is known as the base of the skull where the head and neck meet.
The cerebellum is divided into three different parts called lobes. These lobes are separated from each other by deep grooves called fissures. There are two major components in the Cerebellum:
Cerebellar cortex: This is a layer of thin, highly folded tissue that contains most of the nerve cells in the cerebellum. Cerebellum nucleus: Nerve cells in the cerebellum nucleus, located deep in the cerebellum, are mainly involved in the transmission of information from the cerebellum.
3. What can you do to protect Cerebellum?
Keeping your cerebellum and other parts of the brain injury-free and healthy is very important for your physical and mental health. Given below are a few tips to protect your cerebellum-
Protect your head
Keep exercising regularly
Make sure to follow a healthy diet
Avoid smoking and drinking
4. What is the function of the Cerebellum and Cerebrum?
The cerebrum is involved in various thinking processes, and the cerebellum is mainly involved in muscle movement and coordination. Although there are differences, their features complement each other in several ways.
5. How are injuries caused to the brain?
The brain is an important organ in a living body. Heavy or Major injuries can affect the functioning of the body as the brain is the one that sends signals throughout the body. Brain damage from excessive force falls, or accidents are known as traumatic brain injury. The effects of an injury depend on several factors, including severity, location, and type.
Other non-traumatic events and situations can damage the brain, such as stroke, encephalitis, cancer, cerebral hemorrhage, and even abnormally folded proteins such as prions. These affect brain function and can be life-threatening.
6. Write the difference between the Cerebellum and Cerebrum structures.
The structural differences between cerebrum and cerebellum are:
The cerebrum accounts for 85% of the brain’s weight, whereas the cerebellum only accounts for 10%.
The cerebrum resembles walnut in shape and the cerebellum looks like a little brain located under the cerebrum.
The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres which are further divided into two sections each. Cerebellum also has two hemispheres.
The cerebrum has four lobes, and only three lobes are present in the cerebellum.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain responsible for human movements like running, walking, jumping, and coordinating our eye movements. The cerebrum is responsible for voluntary muscle movements, memory, and intelligence.
7. Write some of the facts about the human brain.
Human brain is one of the most complex body parts. We have the largest brain size among mammals relative to body weight. It is responsible for all bodily functions. It is responsible for all voluntary and involuntary movements.
Our brain weighs around 3.3 pounds.
Our brain contains trillions of neuron connections, connected using synapses.
It contains grey and white matter.
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, which accounts for around 85% of its weight.
The brain is divided into two hemispheres which are commonly called the left and right brain.
Our human brain accounts for 2% of our body weight.
