The cerebellum plays a key role in the regulation of motor learning, coordination and timing, and has been implicated in sensory and cognitive processes as well. However, our current knowledge of its electrophysiological mechanisms comes primarily from direct recordings in animals, as investigations into cerebellar function in humans have instead predominantly relied on lesion, haemodynamic and metabolic imaging studies. While the latter provide fundamental insights into the contribution of the cerebellum to various cerebellar-cortical pathways mediating behaviour, they remain limited in terms of temporal and spectral resolution. In principle, this shortcoming could be overcome by monitoring the cerebellum’s electrophysiological signals. Non-invasive assessment of cerebellar electrophysiology in humans, however, is hampered by the limited spatial resolution of electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in subcortical structures, i.e., deep sources. Furthermore, it has been argued that the anatomical configuration of the cerebellum leads to signal cancellation in MEG and EEG. Yet, claims that MEG and EEG are unable to detect cerebellar activity have been challenged by an increasing number of studies over the last decade. Here we address this controversy and survey reports in which electrophysiological signals were successfully recorded from the human cerebellum. We argue that the detection of cerebellum activity non-invasively with MEG and EEG is indeed possible and can be enhanced with appropriate methods, in particular using connectivity analysis in source space. We provide illustrative examples of cerebellar activity detected with MEG and EEG. Furthermore, we propose practical guidelines to optimize the detection of cerebellar activity with MEG and EEG. Finally, we discuss MEG and EEG signal contamination that may lead to localizing spurious sources in the cerebellum and suggest ways of handling such artefacts. This review is to be read as a perspective review that highlights that it is indeed possible to measure cerebellum with MEG and EEG and encourages MEG and EEG researchers to do so. Its added value beyond highlighting and encouraging is that it offers useful advice for researchers aspiring to investigate the cerebellum with MEG and EEG.

中文翻译：

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脑电图和脑磁图可以检测到人类小脑的信号吗？

小脑在运动学习、协调和计时的调节中起着关键作用，并且也与感觉和认知过程有关。然而，我们目前对其电生理机制的了解主要来自动物的直接记录，因为对人类小脑功能的研究主要依赖于病变、血流动力学和代谢成像研究。虽然后者提供了小脑对介导行为的各种小脑皮质通路的贡献的基本见解，但它们在时间和光谱分辨率方面仍然有限。原则上，这个缺点可以通过监测小脑的电生理信号来克服。然而，对人类小脑电生理学的无创评估受到皮层下结构（即深源）中脑电图（EEG）和脑磁图（MEG）有限空间分辨率的阻碍。此外，有人认为小脑的解剖结构会导致脑磁图和脑电图的信号抵消。然而，过去十年中越来越多的研究对脑磁图和脑电图无法检测小脑活动的说法提出了质疑。在这里，我们解决了这一争议和调查报告，其中成功记录了人类小脑的电生理信号。我们认为，用脑磁图和脑电图非侵入性地检测小脑活动确实是可能的，并且可以通过适当的方法来增强，特别是使用源空间中的连通性分析。我们提供了用脑磁图和脑电图检测到的小脑活动的说明性示例。此外，我们提出了优化 MEG 和 EEG 对小脑活动检测的实用指南。最后，我们讨论了脑磁图和脑电图信号污染，这可能导致小脑中的虚假源定位，并提出了处理此类伪影的方法。这篇综述应被解读为一篇透视综述，强调用脑磁图和脑电图测量小脑确实是可能的，并鼓励脑磁图和脑电图研究人员这样做。除了强调和鼓励之外，它的附加价值还在于，它为渴望利用脑磁图和脑电图研究小脑的研究人员提供了有用的建议。