Motor regulation is not the only function of this multitalented vegetable. The cerebellum also appears to be involved in language, attention, mood, and processing speed—especially in measurements involving motor tasks (like pressing a button). With age, two changes occur that directly alter that speed. First, gray matter volume within the cerebellum shrinks. Second, connections from the cerebellum to far-flung places like the parietal lobe (roughly the region underneath a wide headband) erode. That’s a big deal: the parietal lobe helps integrate information from a variety of senses. These
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