Contribution of cerebellar loops to action timing

- Action timing deficits result from cerebellar damage, but their causes are unclear.
- The cerebellum is interlinked with many structures that convey timing information.
- One timing signal, ramping activity, is particularly common throughout the network.
- Parsing the cerebellar role in action timing thus requires a network-wide approach.
- Recent input-output analyses of the cerebellum are clarifying its role in timing.

Recent studies of sensorimotor processing have benefited from decision-making paradigms that emphasize the selection of appropriate movements. Selecting when to make those responses, or action timing, is important as well. Although the cerebellum is commonly viewed as a controller of movement dynamics, its role in action timing is also firmly supported. Several lines of research have now extended this idea. Anatomical findings have revealed connections between the cerebellum and broader timing circuits, neurophysiological results have suggested mechanisms for timing within its microcircuitry, and theoretical work has indicated how temporal signals are processed through it and decoded by its targets. These developments are inspiring renewed studies of the role of the cerebellar loops in action timing.