MCAT Question A Day - 4/17/14 - Answer!
The cerebellum is the part of the brain that helps coordinate skeletal muscles and helps maintain posture and balance. To perform this complex function, the cerebellum must receive input from
A. the cerebrum and proprioceptors.
B. the cerebrum and the inner ear.
C. proprioceptors and the inner ear.
D. the cerebrum, proprioceptors, and the inner ear.
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The correct answer is (D). Knowledge of the basic functions of brain structures is necessary, as well as an understanding of the various sources of sensory and CNS information needed to coordinate movement, posture, and balance. The movement of skeletal muscles is initiated in the cerebrum. Posture and balance are influenced, in part, from sensory signals originating in the joints, tendons, and muscles themselves (proprioception), as well as from the utricle, saccule, and semicircular canals in the inner ear.
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