The cerebellum influences both motor control and cognitive functions through connections to cortical regions. Research has shown the cerebellum is involved in coordination of movement, balance, and cognitive processes like language. Damage to the cerebellum can impair movement and studies have found relationships between cerebellar volume and motor and cognitive skills in children. The cerebellum also shows activation during tasks involving attention, working memory, and other non-motor functions.

1. The Cerebellum’s Motor and
Nonmotor Functions
The cerebellum obtain anatomical substrate from cortical regions to influence the
control of movement and cognition (Strick, Dum, & Fiez, 2009).
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017
(King, 2012)

2. The Cerebellum is Involved in both the Coordination of
Movement and Cognitive Processes
• The cerebellum controls balance,
movement, and coordination.
• It allows you to stand upright, keep
your balance, and move around.
• Damage to the cerebellum can result
in uncoordinated movement, loss of
muscle tone, and an unsteady gait.
(Allin, Matsumoto, Santhouse, Nosarti, Al Asady, Stewart, Rifkin, & Murray, 2001)
(King, 2012)
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

3. Fetal Cerebellar Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Tissue
Organization Changes until 37 weeks Gestation
(Saksena, Husain, Das, Pradhan, Trivedi, Srivastava, et al., 2008; Allin, Matsumoto, Santhouse, Nosarti, Al Asady,
Stewart, Rifkin, & Murray, 2001) ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017
Strick, Dum, & Fiez, 2009

4. A Left Cerebellar Pathway Mediates Language in
Prematurely-Born Young Adults
Fig. 1. Cerebellar region showing group differences (preterm–term) in local tissue connectivity as measured
by the network measure degree (p<0.05 corrected). This left cerebellar region was subsequently used as a seed
region-of-interest (ROI) for ROI-to-whole-brain connectivity analysis (Constable, Vohr, Scheinost, Benjamin,
Fulbright, Lacadie, Schneider, et al, 2013). ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

5. Significant Positive Correlations between Semantic Language Measures
and Left Cerebellum-IFG Bilaterally in Preterm Young Adults
The map to the right shows group differences (preterm–
term, p<0.05) in connectivity from the left cerebellar
seed-to-whole-brain analysis. There were stronger
negative connectivity (anticorrelations) to both the left
and right inferior frontal gyri (IFG) and right temporal
cortex were observed for the preterm group compared to
the term controls (Constable, Vohr, Scheinost, Benjamin,
Fulbright, Lacadie, Schneider, et al, 2013).
(King, 2012)
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

6. Cerebellar Activation Includes Tasks Designed to Assess
Attention
Executive
Control
Language
Learning
Working
Memory
Pain
Emotion
Addiction
(Strick, Dum, & Fiez, 2009; see Glickstein 2007, Timmann & Daum 2007)
A major component of cerebellar output targets nonmotor areas of the cerebral cortex.
(King, 2012)
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

7. Nonmotor Effects of Cerebellar Damage
Relationship was found between
Damaged Cerebellar and
Impairments on Standardized
and Experimental Measures of
Attention
and
Executive Control
Procedural
Memory
Working
Memory
Visual-
Spatial
ProcessingLanguage
(Timmann & Daum 2007 in Strick, et al., 2009) ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

8. The Cerebellum’s Role in Cognition and Language
cerebellar volume was independently
associated with cognitive and language
development in moderate and late
preterm 2-year old children.
(Cheong, Thompson, Spittle, Potter, Walsh, Burnett, Lee, Chen, et al., 2016)
Sagittal view of a late preterm
infant’s tissue classification overlaid
on a T2-weighted scan.
Cerebellum
Cheong and colleagues reported that
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

9. Larger Cerebellar Volumes were Associated with Higher Motor
Composite Scores on the Bayler-III in 2-year old Toddlers Born
Moderate (32-33) to Late Preterm (34-36)Larger Cerebellar Volumes were Associated
with Higher Motor Composite Scores on the
Bayler-III in 2-year old Toddlers
Born Moderate (32-33) to Late Preterm (34-36)
(Cheong, Thompson, Spittle, Potter, Walsh, Burnett, Lee, Chen, et al., 2016; Limperopoulos et al., 2005 in Jiang, et al., 2012).
~During the Third Trimester the Rapid Cerebellar Growth is Impeded by Preterm Birth~
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10. (Frangou, Chitins, & Williams, 2004 in Kuo, et al., 2008)
Seven Gray Matter Regions Positively Correlated with
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Scores of
Gifted and Talented Students
Seven Gray Matter Regions Positively Correlated with
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Scores of
Gifted and Talented Students
Thalamus
Cingulate gyrus
(BA 9, 24, 32)Left
Anterior
Cerebellum
BA – Brodmann area
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11. Movement problems are common in children with developmental disorders such as dyslexia, specific
language impairment, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
indicating a coupling between mental and movement-related functions.
(Diamond, 2000 in Park, et al., 2014; de Zubicaray et al., 1998; Schlosser et al., 1998)
Specific
Language
Impairment
Dyslexia
Autism
Spectrum
Disorder
Attention
Deficit
Hyperactivity
Disorder
Anatomical evidence suggests that this link stems from regular coactivation of the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the contralateral cerebellum.
Movement Problems are Common in Children
with Developmental Disorders, Indicating
a Coupling between Mental and
Movement-Related Functions.
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017
(King, 2012)

12. Significant Positive Correlations between Semantic Language Measures
and Left Cerebellum-IFG network Bilaterally in Preterm Young Adults
The Left Cerebellar region shows group differences (preterm–term) in local
tissue connectivity as measured by the network measure degree (p<0.05
corrected). This left cerebellar region was subsequently used as a seed region-of-
interest (ROI) for ROI-to-whole-brain connectivity analysis.
(Constable, Vohr, Scheinost, Benjamin, Fulbright, Lacadie, Schneider, et al, 2013)
R L
ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017

13. Major brain development occurs dring the moderate and late preterm period of gestation: for
instance, brain weight increases approximately 50% for cortical gray matter, 5-fold for myelinated
white matter volumes, and 25% for cerebellar volume (Huppi, et al., 1998; Limperopoulos, et al.,
2005). These tissue classes or structures are uniquely vulnerable to moderate and late preterm birth
Major Brain Development occurs
during the Moderate (32-33 weeks)
and Late Preterm (34-36 weeks)
Periods of Gestation
(Cheong, et al., 2016; Huppi, et al., 1998 in 2016; Limperopoulos, et al., 2005 in 2016; Sciencemag.org, 2015)
Cortical Gray Matter weight
increases approximately 50%.
Myelinated White Matter
Volumes increase by 5-Fold
Brain tissue are uniquely
vulnerable during moderate
and late Preterm Birth
Cerebellar Volume
Increase by 25%
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14. End of
The Acquisition of Language
through the Cerebellum
Myelination in cerebellar white matter pathways begins during
the third trimester of gestation
(Saksena, Husain, Das, Pradhan, Trivedi, Srivastava, et al., 2008) ozella.brundidge@gmail.com 4/9/2017
(Strick, Dum, & Fiez, 2009)