is the main structure in the hindbrain, situated at the base of the brain, at the top of the spinal cord. The cerebellum controls our balance and postural stability, and is involved in motor coordination - not, it appears, in the initial learning of motor skills, but in the performance and improvement of learned motor skills. Some regions of the cerebellum are especially vulnerable to the effects of chronic alcoholism. The hindbrain, although far from the frontal lobes, is connected to those regions, most especially through the pons and the thalamus. Recent rat studies have also suggested that the cerebellum may be involved in some way in remembering strong emotions, in particular, in the consolidation of long-term memories of fear. There is also growing evidence that the cerebellum might also be involved in processing speech and language.