What Part of the Brain Controls Balance?
Answer – The part of the brain that primarily controls balance is the cerebellum.
Explanation:
The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain and is principally responsible for coordinating and regulating motor movements, including balance, posture, and fine motor control. It receives information from the sensory systems like the eyes, the inner ear (the vestibular system), and proprioception (sensory information from muscles and joints). Then, it processes this information and sends signals to the body’s muscles to adjust and maintain balance.
Besides the cerebellum, the basal ganglia, cerebrum, and brainstem also partly contribute to the balance and coordination functions of the body.
Image credit: Cancer Research UK / Wikimedia Commons (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)
