Cerebellum And Divergent Thinking: An Amazing Relationship

The cerebellum and divergent thinking are related in a surprising, disturbing and decisive way. Until recently we took it for granted that the only functions that this organ performed were related to memory and motor coordination. However, we now know that it is decisive in much of the higher cognitive processes.

Interestingly, one of the first people to be fascinated by the cerebellum was Leonardo da Vinci. It was around the year 1504 that, on one of his furtive nights of researching corpses to understand human physiology, he found this area located in the posterior fossa of the skull. He simply called it “small brain (cerebellum).”

Later, between the 17th and 19th centuries, its role in dimensions such as balance, posture, motor learning and fine motor skills (such as the ability to write) were discovered. Since then, this little brain has been underestimated and misunderstood, although many neurologists have already realized its relevance.

It’s time to give it the relevance it deserves and understand how it helps us on a daily basis.

What is the relationship between the cerebellum and divergent thinking?

This data should draw our attention: the cerebellum represents just over 10% of the total brain volume. However, it houses almost 80% of all brain neurons. Something like this already gives us an unquestionable clue that its importance may be much greater than we thought at first. Therefore, inferring that he can handle more than motor tasks is logical.

We know, for example, that thanks to this organ we drive or ride a bicycle without having to “remember” how to do it. In other words, the cerebellum facilitates and integrates motor memory and automates a large part of the movements we make on a daily basis. However, it has been in the last decade that scientists have started to pay more attention to this area to discover several aspects. They are as follows.

Cerebellum and divergent thinking

A study published in the Creativity Research Journal by Dr. Jalil Pasl in 2007 highlighted the relevance of the cerebellum in functions such as working memory and creativity. Recently, Christopher J. Steele of the Max Planck Institute for Cognition and Neuroscience in Leipzig revealed something even more decisive.

The cerebellum has very dense connectivity with various areas of the brain. This region is so compact and highly interconnected that it is present in a large number of higher cognitive processes.

• The cerebellum is related to skills such as communication, creativity and the ability to think in an original and innovative way (divergent thinking).
• Also, something very important was seen. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are closely related to Purkinje cells and the cerebellum. Children who have better brain-cerebellum connectivity and show better motor skills develop better communication and socialization skills.

Allan Reiss, professor of radiology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, notes the following:

The cerebellum and fluid intelligence

Remember that fluid intelligence refers to the ability to perform mental operations and solve problems in an original way, without any prior knowledge. In other words, it defines the ability to face challenges without having studied before.

The cerebellum and divergent thinking are related to this type of intelligence. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi also recalls that this type of skill is the one that achieves greater synchronization and connectivity of the cerebral hemispheres. Now we know that the cerebellum is also involved in this process.

We have a serious problem with the cerebellum.

We already know of the great relevance of this organ that so attracted Leonardo da Vinci’s attention. It is clear to us that the cerebellum and divergent thinking are significantly related. Now, there is a problem – or, in fact, several.

• The cerebellum atrophies with a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and a passive lifestyle.

• Excessive exposure to computer and cell phone screens reduces their size and connectivity.

These two dimensions are serious enough to make us think. Today, we rely more and more on the use of technology, to the point of letting it do the thinking for us. We hardly do any mental calculations. We no longer know how to find our way around a city without using GPS.

Also, handwriting is in danger of extinction. Why use pencil and paper if we have a word processor? We don’t realize it, we don’t realize it, but all of this has a serious impact on our brain.

Allowing our devices to replace many of the tasks that we used to do mentally or manually results in atrophy of the cerebellum, in a slow and premature aging of a region essential for human beings and our progress. It is important to reflect on this.