Pivotal Insights: The Contributions of Gordon Holmes (1876–1965) and Olof Larsell (1886–1964) to Our Understanding of Cerebellar Function and Structure

Among the notables who have contributed to our knowledge of cerebellar structure and function, two individuals stand out. The neurologist Gordon M. Holmes, consequent to his clinical observations on patients with cerebellar damage, especially those with injuries in WW I, provided a remarkable understanding of deficits, their laterality in relation to lesion location, and whether or not it involved cortex, nuclei, or both. He also defined, and refined, the clinical terminology describing cerebellar deficits to a level of accuracy, and especially relevance, that it is commonly used today. The anatomist Olof Larsell, in 1920, embarked on a line of investigation that would result, over 25+ years later, in a coherent and organized terminology for the lobes and lobules of the cerebellum that is widely used today and was the structural basis for numerous later experimental investigations. In this effort Larsell used a developmental approach, mapped the sequential approach of the cerebellar fissures and folia, and offered a terminology that clarified the existing, and confusing, approach that existed prior to 1920.