Difference Between Cerebrum and Cerebellum

The key difference between cerebrum and cerebellum is that cerebrum is the largest part of the forebrain while cerebellum is the largest part of the hindbrain.

The nervous system of vertebrates comprises three major systems: central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous system. The central nervous system consists of two major parts: brain and spinal cord. Cerebrum and cerebellum are two major parts of the human brain. However, cerebrum belongs to forebrain while cerebellum belongs to the hindbrain. This article mainly focuses on the difference between cerebrum and cerebellum.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cerebrum 
3. What is Cerebellum
4. Similarities Between Cerebrum and Cerebellum
5. Side by Side Comparison – Cerebrum vs Cerebellum in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Cerebrum?

Cerebrum is the largest and most prominent part of the human brain. It constitutes 4/5 of the entire brain weight with a highly wrinkled cortex. Wrinkled cortex increases the surface area of the brain, thereby increasing the number of neurons. Thus, this makes the human brain to be more efficient than other vertebrates.

Cerebrum fissure longitudinally divides the cerebrum into two major hemispheres as left hemisphere and right hemisphere. But, corpus callosum connects these two hemispheres with each other. Each hemisphere can be further divided into four lobes by three deep fissures. Those lobes are frontal lobe, partial lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe. Central fissure, perieto-occipital fissure, and Sylvian fissure demarcate the above four lobes. Each lobe of the cerebrum is responsible for specific functions of our body. Accordingly, the frontal lobe is responsible for reasoning, planning, speech, movement, emotions, and problem-solving. The partial lobe is responsible for controlling certain movements such as orientation, recognition, and perception of stimuli. The occipital lobe is responsible for the processing of visuals while temporal lobe is associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech.

What is Cerebellum?

Cerebellum is the second largest part of the human brain, located just below the posterior part of the cerebrum. It is the largest part of hindbrain. Although it accounts for around 10% of the brain’s volume, it contains more than 50% of the total number of neurons present in the brain.

Structurally, the upper surface of the cerebellum comprises gray matter (cerebellar cortex) while the central part of the medulla comprises white matter (arbor vitae). The cerebellum is also called ‘little brain’ because it has two hemispheres and wrinkled surface like the cerebrum. Cerebellum has several important functions in our body including the regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance. It is possible to divide the cerebellum further into a central lobe called vermis and two lateral lobes.

What are the Similarities Between Cerebrum and Cerebellum?

• Cerebrum and cerebellum are two parts of the human brain.
• These parts control all the voluntary actions in the body.

What is the Difference Between Cerebrum and Cerebellum?

The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and belongs to the forebrain while cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain, and belongs to the hindbrain. So, this is the key difference between cerebrum and cerebellum. However, cerebellum is the largest part of the hindbrain. Most importantly, cerebrum controls voluntary functions and the seat of intelligence, will power, memory, etc. while cerebellum coordinates voluntary functions and controls equilibrium. Therefore, this is the functional difference between cerebrum and cerebellum.

Moreover, another significant difference between cerebrum and cerebellum is that the cerebellum contains over 50% of the total number of neurons in the brain. Therefore, it has more neurons than in cerebrum. Also, in the evolutionary progression, it is assumed that the cerebellum has evolved first and is much older than the cerebrum.

Summary – Cerebrum vs Cerebellum

Cerebrum and cerebellum are two major parts of the human brain. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and it belongs to the forebrain. On the other hand, the cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain and it belongs to the hindbrain. Both cerebrum and cerebellum are responsible for controlling the voluntary function in our body. However, the cerebellum contains more neurons than the cerebrum. Also, it is assumed that cerebellum evolved before the cerebrum. Thus, this is a summary of the difference between cerebrum and cerebellum.

Reference:

1. “Cerebrum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2019, Available here.
2. “Brain Structures and Their Functions.” Serendip Studio, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Main brain lobes” By The original uploader was RobinH at English Wikibooks. – Transferred from en.wikibooks to Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Gray677” By Henry Vandyke Carter – Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body (See “Book” section below)Bartleby.com: Gray’s Anatomy, Plate 677 (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia