Abstract
Cognitive processes involve precisely coordinated neuronal communications between multiple cerebral cortical structures in a task specific manner. Rich new evidence now implicates the cerebellum in cognitive functions. There is general agreement that cerebellar cognitive function involves interactions between the cerebellum and cerebral cortical association areas. Traditional views assume reciprocal interactions between one cerebellar and one cerebral cortical site, via closed-loop connections. We offer evidence supporting a new perspective that assigns the cerebellum the role of a coordinator of communication. We propose that the cerebellum participates in cognitive function by modulating the coherence of neuronal oscillations to optimize communications between multiple cortical structures in a task specific manner.
Introduction
Higher order brain functions, including cognitive processes, involve precisely coordinated neuronal communications between multiple cerebral cortical structures (e.g., ; Vaadia et al., 1995; ; ). In a seminal publication, proposed a mechanism for controlling neuronal communications between brain structures through the modulation of coherence of their neuronal oscillations (Box 1). Experimental findings have since provided substantial support for the concept of “communication through coherence” (CTC), showing that coherence changes do indeed correlate with changes in the effectiveness of neuronal transmission, and that coherence changes occur in a task-specific manner. CTC has been studied in detail in the context of decision making. In rodents, decision-making in SWM requires the coordinated activity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsal hippocampus (; ). Simultaneous electrophysiological recordings in the mPFC and hippocampus during performance of SWM tasks have shown that the decision process is associated with an increase in the coherence of theta oscillations between the mPFC and dorsal hippocampus (; ; ; ). A comparison of correct and incorrect decisions revealed that mPFC-hippocampal theta coherence reached higher values during correct compared to incorrect decisions, supporting a functional role of coherence in this task (; ). In order to affect brain function changes in coherence need to affect changes in spike activity. In the context of SWM two studies measured both spike activity and local field potential (LFP) coherence and showed that an increase in coherence is accompanied by an increase in entrainment of mPFC spike activity to the phase of the coherent mPFC-hippocampal theta oscillations (; ). For additional examples of experimental support for CTC, including an influence of coherence on spike activity see also (; Siegel et al., 2008; ; ; Sigurdsson and Duvarci, 2016; ; ; ).
Box 1. Fundamental principles of the Communication Through Coherence (CTC) theory, and their extension to account for cerebrocerebellar interactions.
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Gamma oscillations (>30 Hz) are generated through rhythmic sequences of excitation and inhibition within a local group of neocortical neurons, creating brief temporal windows of high and low excitability.
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Communication between neuronal groups is most effective when the output of the presynaptic group is aligned with a high-excitability window of the postsynaptic group. Synchronization in the gamma range facilitates this.
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A neuronal group receiving gamma-rhythmic inputs from several different presynaptic groups will preferentially respond to the group best aligned with its high-excitability windows, thereby providing selective communication.
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Selective synchronization of gamma is influenced by “top-down” signals that are typically in the alpha/beta range (5–30 Hz). Alpha is typically inhibitory, but beta can enhance gamma frequency to aid in selective synchronization.
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Gamma amplitude is highest in the supragranular layers which tend to direct their influence to higher cortices. Alpha/beta amplitude is highest in the infragranular layers, which project to lower cortices as well as the cerebellum via the pontine nuclei.
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We propose that the cerebellum encodes rhythms in the alpha/beta range that reflect the topographical pattern of gamma activation in the cerebral cortex and generates feedback to facilitate appropriate gamma-rhythmic synchronization in communicating neuronal groups.
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This gamma-rhythmic synchronization may be accomplished via the direct induction and modulation of neocortical gamma, or the indirect modulation of gamma through alpha/beta rhythms.
Importantly, the CTC theory describes a mechanism for flexibility in communication between neuronal groups that allows for selective information flow but does not explain the neuronal mechanism for this selectivity itself. The CTC theory proposes that “top-down” signals arise to modulate the effective transmission from “bottom-up” sources of sensory information, with “top-down” signals emerging as a consequence of internally maintained processes such as cognition or attention. The source(s) of these signals remains unknown in many cases. What is perhaps the most intriguing uncertainty is how changes in coherence selectively occur to result in the appropriate spatiotemporal synchronization for a given task. We propose that this process requires the cerebellum as a coordinator of task specific communication, a role that is consistent with existing interpretations of cerebellar function, like supervised learning and internal modeling of sensory and motor functions.
There is extensive evidence for cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions, such as language processing, working memory, and executive function (; ; ; ). Anatomical and imaging studies show extensive connections between the cerebellum and neocortical areas essential for cognitive functions in healthy brains (; Strick et al., 2009; ). Posterior fossa syndrome, a condition that often develops after surgical removal of a medulloblastoma – a brain tumor that develops in the posterior fossa region of the brain – is characterized by impairments of cognition, emotion, and expressive language (Schmahmann et al., 2007; ). suggested that the severity of posterior fossa syndrome is determined by the degree of damage to the cerebrocerebellar connection pathways during surgery, rather than to the extent of cerebellar damage (). The sheer spectrum of cognitive functions now linked to the cerebellum (Rapoport et al., 2000; Schmahmann et al., 2019) suggest that the cerebellar contribution supports a general neuronal principle of cognitive processes rather than a specific contribution to any individual particular function.
Thus, accepting a central, albeit yet undefined role of the cerebellum in cognition, progress toward a complete understanding of normal cognitive brain function and of the neuropathology of mental illnesses must include a more comprehensive understanding of the neuronal mechanisms that comprise the cerebellar involvement in cognition.
Even before there was broad acceptance of a cerebellar role in cognition, it became obvious that cerebellar neuropathology was one of the most common neuropathologies found in the brains of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (; ; ; ) or schizophrenia (Weinberger et al., 1980; ; Picard et al., 2007; ). More recently, studies have also implicated the cerebellum in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Schmahmann, 2016; ). As we review below, these diseases are often associated with changes in coherence of cortical oscillations, indicative of dyscoordination of communication consistent with the cerebellum failing to perform its proposed role as a coordinator of communication.
The new perspective we propose here reconciles some of the prevailing theories in cerebral and cerebellar research. Tracing cerebrocerebellar connectivity using transneuronal transport of neurotropic viruses revealed reciprocal connections between a specific cerebellar region and a specific cerebral cortical site, suggesting a separation of function through closed-loop connections (; ; Figure 1A). However, newer studies documented considerable convergence and divergence in cerebrocerebellar connectivity, painting a more complex picture that allows for a richer interaction between structures and functions (). The latter view is more in line with the proposed new perspective of the cerebellum as a coordinator of task-specific neuronal communication between cerebral cortical structures via the modulation of coherence of oscillations (Figure 1B). We propose, based on recent experimental findings from our labs () and from others (Popa et al., 2013; ), that the cerebellum accomplishes this by encoding the phase relations of ongoing neuronal oscillations in neocortical areas and providing task-appropriate feedback that promotes specific spatiotemporal patterns of gamma activation. Ultimately, these interactions provide “top-down” selectivity for inter-areal coherence.
FIGURE 1
Modulation of coherence is a temporal coordination task, requiring similar millisecond-range precision as the temporal coordination of muscle contractions for motor control, for which the cerebellum is known to be crucially important. The unique cerebellar cortical network architecture and cellular properties ideally enable the cerebellum to encode neocortical oscillations and transform this information into task-specific outputs to modulate coherence. This new perspective of cerebrocerebellar interaction also sheds a new light on findings from imaging studies that have identified cerebellar loci as parts of brain-wide networks (; ; ; ,). Assuming a role of the cerebellum as coordinator of cerebral cortical communication, a new approach is to link activity in the cerebellar nodes to the strength of functional connectivity between cerebral cortical nodes of the network. Recent experiments by provide some support for this notion, showing that stimulation of the cerebellar cortex in humans increased functional connectivity in the default mode network. Looking at known functional and anatomical cerebrocerebellar connectivity patterns with this new perspective provides new opportunities for resolving key questions around the neuronal “language” of cerebrocerebellar interactions.
Dynamic Coordination of Neuronal Activity in the Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral functional networks are defined as such based on robust and consistent spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity, often linked to specific brain states and mental operations (; ; Raichle, 2015). These patterns are manifest in different ways at varying spatial and temporal scales, resulting in distinct but interrelated observations with different imaging modalities. Brain-wide functional networks identified with functional MRI reflect spatial patterns of neuronal activity that is temporally coordinated on the scale of hundreds of milliseconds to seconds. The vasodilation that drives these BOLD signal patterns in the neocortex is tightly linked to the bursting of gamma oscillations (), which are highly focal in nature and influence communication on the neuronal level (). Oscillations in the alpha and beta range (5–30 Hz) are more spatially diffuse and effect both the occurrence and coherence of gamma oscillations (Richter et al., 2017). Resting state brain networks can also be captured using magnetoencephalography (MEG), which provides a higher temporal resolution and allows capturing oscillations at higher frequency bands, including alpha and beta rhythms. used MEG measurements to recreate the spatial patterns that constitute functional networks in fMRI. This involvement of alpha and beta oscillations in brain wide functional networks together with their modulation of gamma oscillations suggests that they may play a key role in the spatial selectivity of gamma coherence, forming a critical link between communication at the neuronal level and the macroscopic organization of brain-wide functional networks.
In the following sections, we will review evidence that the cerebellum is essential for the coherence of cerebral gamma oscillations within a well-defined functional network, and that the cerebellar activity reflects information about cerebral oscillations within a broad range of frequencies. We propose that these findings, along with a trove of anatomical, physiological, and imaging evidence, supports the idea that the cerebellum plays a key role in the modulation of gamma coherence across different areas of the cerebral cortex. We propose that this is accomplished through the encoding of sub-gamma cerebral oscillations by the cerebellum, and the subsequent generation of cerebello-cortical feedback. The result of this feedback is the modulation of cerebral gamma and thus its coherence, although it remains to be explored whether gamma is modulated directly or indirectly through the modulation of sub-gamma oscillations.
Experimental Evidence Supporting Cerebellar Coordination of Communication by Coherence
A seminal study by Popa et al. (2013) was the first to suggest a role for the cerebellum in coordinating coherence in the sensorimotor system. They performed simultaneous recordings of neuronal oscillations in the primary sensory (S1) and primary motor cortices (M1) of the mystacial whisker system in freely moving rats. Up to eight electrodes were placed in each area to allow analysis of coherence within S1 and M1 as well as between the two areas. Whenever the rats engaged in active whisker movements, coherence of gamma oscillations within S1 and M1 increased for the duration of the behavior (Popa et al., 2013; Figure 2A). A crucial involvement of the cerebellum in this behavior-related coherence increase became clear when the authors used Muscimol to pharmacologically inactivate the interposed nucleus of the cerebellum, i.e., the nucleus that projects to the whisker system via the motor thalamus. Inactivation of the interposed nucleus eliminated the increase of S1-M1 gamma coherence during whisking behavior (Popa et al., 2013). Importantly, the generation of gamma oscillations within each structure was not altered by inactivating cerebellar output. Thus, the generation of gamma rhythms per se did not require an intact cerebellar output, but between-structure coherence of gamma did. A very recent study supported these findings using optogenetic excitation of Purkinje cells to silence cerebellar output and examined the resulting changes in coherence in greater anatomical and temporal detail. used linear silicon probes to record along the cortical depth of S1 and M1 during sensory stimulation delivered via an air puff to the whiskers. Concurrent optical stimulation of Purkinje cells in the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere caused temporary dampening of cerebellar output, resulting in the loss of sensory-evoked S1-M1 coherence in the gamma range (Figure 2B). The authors also showed that Purkinje cell stimulation reduced the amplitude of evoked local field potential (LFP) response to whisker stimulation predominantly in the deep cortical layers of both S1 and M1. This effect, as well as the disruption of gamma-band coherence, was largely rescued by delaying the onset of Purkinje cell stimulation by 20 ms relative to the air puff, indicating that the coherence modulation was mediated by a fast, ascending cerebellar pathway. Additionally, Purkinje cell stimulation was accompanied by an increase in S1-M1 coherence within the theta range regardless of concurrent whisker stimulation. This suggests that theta-band coherence was a direct result of the transient cerebellar stimulation and may reflect a mechanism of cerebellar-controlled sub-gamma neuronal activity capable of mediating gamma-band activity. The authors completed the study by creating an in silico laminar model of cerebellar, cortical, and subcortical interactions showing that coherent gamma activity likely flowed from S1 to M1, while coherent theta was a top-down signal flowing from M1 to S1 (). This is intriguing given the proposed role of theta within the CTC hypothesis – that it acts as a gating rhythm in the target region that modulates the effectiveness of gamma-frequency transmission from a given source (). The cerebellar stimulation in this study appeared to induce a consistent theta phase relationship with M1 leading S1, which we would not expect to promote gamma-band propagation from S1 to M1.
FIGURE 2
Signals Received by the Cerebellum: Cerebellar Encoding of Cerebral Oscillations
The findings by Popa et al. (2013) and
Encoding of the oscillatory phase of a cortical region, and calculation of phase difference between two co-active cortical regions, are capabilities that would ideally enable the extraction of the neuronal context associated with a given task. Results from our own studies show that Purkinje cell simple spike activity in cerebellar lobulus simplex (LS) and Crus I of awake mice does indeed represent the instantaneous phases and the phase differences between LFP oscillations in the mPFC and the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region (dCA1) (
FIGURE 3

Cerebellar representations of phase and phase differences of oscillations in the mPFC and CA1. (A) Illustration of the experimental setup with recording electrodes in the mPFC and dCA1, picking up LFPs and a recording electrode in cerebellar lobulus simplex recording single unit Purkinje cell spike activity. (B) Example histogram showing Purkinje cell simple spike rate plotted against the phase of a 10 Hz oscillation recorded in the mPFC. (C) Fraction of Purkinje cells in LS (n = 32) whose simple spike activity was significantly correlated with oscillatory phase plotted as a function of mPFC oscillation frequency (plotted on a log-10 scale). The function shows two peaks at the delta frequency range (0.5–4 Hz) and the high gamma range (50–100 Hz). (D) As in (C) but showing fractions of LS Purkinje cells significantly modulated by the phase of oscillatory activity in CA1. (E) Fraction of Purkinje cells in Crus I (n = 17) whose simple spike activity was significantly correlated with the oscillatory phase in mPFC plotted as a function of mPFC oscillation frequency. The function shows a single peak at the delta frequency range (0.5–4 Hz). (F) As in (E) but showing fractions of Crus I Purkinje cells significantly modulated by the phase of oscillatory activity in CA1. D, delta; T, theta; B, beta; LG, low gamma; HG, high gamma. (G) Illustration of hypothetical oscillations at a specific frequency occurring simultaneously in the mPFC (blue traces) and CA1 (red traces) and displaying different phase relationships (4) at different times. The phase relationship 4 is defined as the phase difference relative to the mPFC oscillation. (H) Hypothetical Purkinje cell spikes recorded simultaneously with the LFP activity in the mPFC and CA1 shown in (G). The rate modulation of this hypothetical Purkinje cell shows a significant increase in spike firing when the phase difference between mPFC and CA1 oscillations reaches values around 270°. (I) Phase histogram of real Purkinje cell simple spike activity. The histogram shows spike activity as a function of mPFC-CA1 phase differences at 11 Hz. The simple spike activity of the Purkinje cell in this example was significantly modulated as a function of mPFC-CA1 phase difference, with a preference of 288.7°. (J) Same data as in (I) represented in polar coordinates. Vectors composed of the angular value 4 and the magnitude of the spikes per sample were summated to determine the angular preference of Purkinje cell activity. The resultant vector magnitude was taken to quantify the degree of modulation and tested against surrogate results for statistical significance (from
How does the cerebellar network derive information about oscillatory phase and phase difference at distinct frequencies from the inputs it receives? The largest descending excitatory input to the cerebellar cortex is conveyed via neurons in the pontine nuclei that project MFs that synapse with granule cells (GCs) in the cerebellar cortex. Pontine afferents appear to be arranged in such a way as to convey the aggregate activity level of the neuronal field from which they originate. These projection neurons have dense but local dendritic arbors and mutual synaptic connection with neighboring corticopontine neurons (
For example, motor cortical efferents remain somatotopically arranged, but non-specific in their synapses – their axons forming numerous branches, with neighboring projections terminating on interlaced fields in the pons (
Despite the diversity of function in the pontine nuclei, pre-cerebellar neurons universally translate their input current into a rate code in a linear fashion (
FIGURE 4

Cellular and network mechanisms of oscillatory encoding and modulation in the cortico-cerebello-cortical circuit. Panel labels are color-coded according to where in the circuit a modulation of the neuronal signal occurs, corresponding to the schematics in the top-center. (A) Cortico-cerebellar signals originate in the deep layers of the neocortex, where alpha and beta oscillations predominate. (B) Pre-cerebellar neurons in the pons translate a dynamic current input into rate in a linear fashion, thereby translating oscillatory current into a rate code. (C) Deep and superficial GCs respond preferentially to different phases of the ponto-cerebellar signal, thereby encoding both phase (via time) and amplitude (via GC depth) of oscillatory input. (D) Phase and phase difference of oscillatory activity is decoded by Purkinje cells, via two potential mechanisms. Top: tidal wave theory proposes that a phase difference in a band-limited frequency range can be calculated as a time difference along slow-conducting parallel fibers. Each parallel fiber conveys information about the phase of one cerebral oscillation, and together convey information about the phase relationship of their inputs. Two inputs offset by Δt would arrive simultaneously at the Purkinje cell dendritie. Bottom: simulations show that rhythmic excitation can generate network resonance across parallel fiber beams with a phase shift, due to cross-beam inhibition from MLIs. Rhythmic excitation could augment Purkinje cell responses to input across parallel fiber beams, thereby providing a means to calculate phase differences that are too great to be accounted for in parallel fiber conduction length. (E) Feedback to the cortex conveyed via thalamocortical projections. Multi-areal matrix-type projections target superficial and deep layers in multiple cortical areas, likely inducing simultaneous beta oscillations that facilitate simultaneous gamma bursts in targeted regions. Focal matrix-type projections preferentially target the superficial layers, suggesting a role in spatially selective augmentation of gamma responses during the bottom-up flow of information.
Interestingly, at least for phase differences of a brief time interval, the cerebellar cortical network architecture is uniquely designed to “calculate” phase difference from oscillatory fiber activity arriving from two different structures (Figure 4D). A phase to phase-difference transform occurs along the slow-conducting parallel fibers in a mechanism first proposed by
Within this framework, it is important to consider frequency specificity of MF inputs as an important component of the cerebrocerebellar pathway. Cortico-pontine input is driven by neurons in cortical layer V, which primarily carry sub-gamma frequencies (
Interestingly, the cerebellar Golgi cell network, which is connected via gap junctions, seems ideally designed to prevent large scale synchronization of the cerebellar input layer in response to rhythmic MF activity (Vervaeke et al., 2010). Gap junctions connecting Golgi cells have unique low pass filtering properties, permitting the propagation of the slow after-hyperpolarization component of an action potential while the fast, depolarizing portion has little to no effect on the membrane potential of neighboring Golgi cells (Vervaeke et al., 2010). This results in a functional lateral inhibition and desynchronization of Golgi cell network activity, allowing rhythmic inputs to remain separated in space and frequency.
Cerebellar network modeling suggests that molecular layer interneurons (MLIs; basket cells and stellate cells) impart circuit resonance that would be consequential for the frequency specificity of encoding phase information (
Selective drive of deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) neurons is the final step in the pathway for the generation of feedback to the cortex. There are four main synaptic influences that determine the activity of DCN neurons: inhibitory input from Purkinje cells, excitatory inputs from collaterals from MFs and climbing fibers, and finally synaptic inputs from other neurons within the DCN network (
The Cerebellum Transmitting: Cerebellar Coordination of Cerebral Activity
How would cerebellar output influence the coherence of oscillations in two cerebral cortical areas? The thalamus is believed to play a key role in the coordination of cerebral oscillations (
It is important to note that the mechanism we propose does not require synchronization of rhythmic neuronal activity between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Synchronization of cerebral and cerebellar rhythms have been observed in animals and humans (Ros et al., 2009;
Further clues as to the cerebellar role in the spatiotemporal organization of cerebral cortical activity can be gleaned from functional imaging studies. Resting state fMRI measurements can be used to identify intrinsic cerebral cortical networks that mimic the regional activation observed during various tasks and at rest. Virtually all functional networks (except visual) (Schmahmann et al., 2019) exhibit robust representation in the cerebellum (
FIGURE 5

Key functional imaging studies of cerebrocerebellar interaction. (A) Voxel-to-network mapping of cerebellar relationship to cerebral intrinsic networks. Most of the cerebellum is most-strongly linked to association and cognitive cerebral areas. (B) Co-activation pattern analysis identifies recurring spatial patterns of co-activation in the brain. Left: three unique cerebral co-activation patterns involving the intraparietal sulcus are shown. Lower panel shows unique thalamic foci associated with each pattern as well. Right: corresponding cerebellar activations. Focal activation of cerebellar cortex is linked to complex patterns of co-activation across distributed cerebral cortical networks. The non-overlapping foci suggests a voxel-to-network mapping of cerebellar activity to cortical networks is insufficient to describe the cerebellum’s role in distributed brain networks. (C) Maturation of brain networks over the course of development. Black arrow indicates cluster of cerebellar nodes at each developmental stage. Early in development, cortical areas are functionally linked to their nearest anatomical neighbors, and the cerebellum has no functional link to the cortex. Once mature however, the cerebellum acts as a hub between distributed functional networks in cortex.
The development of whole-brain networks seen in fMRI, especially how the cerebellum is integrated into them, also suggests that the cerebellum could function as a central hub for communication between major cerebral cortical areas (
Compared to fMRI, electroencephalography (EEG) captures brain activity with much lower spatial but far higher temporal resolution, including frequencies in the gamma range (
Cerebellar Involvement in Hippocampal–Prefrontal Interactions
Cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions and cognitive disorders that are associated with cerebellar neuropathology involves cerebellar interactions with frontal cerebral cortical areas (Ramnani, 2006; Schmahmann et al., 2019; Wagner and Luo, 2019). More recently, essential spatial functions, such as spatial coding by place cells or spatial memory have been shown to require an intact cerebellum (Tomlinson et al., 2014;
To determine the physiological nature of hippocampal cerebellar interactions, Watson et al. (2019) implanted mice with recording electrodes in the dorsal hippocampus, vermal lobule VI and Crus I. They then trained the mice in a simple goal-directed behavior, requiring the mice to traverse a linear path to receive a reward consisting of an electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (
Implications for Cognitive Disorders
Cerebellar coordination of neuronal communication predicts that cerebellar pathophysiology would result in deficits in neuronal communication between brain areas and that those deficits would be detectable in measurements of functional connectivity. This should be testable in brain disorders that have a high likelihood of cerebellar neuropathology, such as ASDs and schizophrenia. Interestingly, a hypothesis of brain-wide dysconnection (disordered functional connectivity between brain structures) as a major underlying cause was advanced for both ASDs (
Additionally, the inevitable surgical damage to the cerebellum, that occurs during medulloblastoma resection in the posterior fossa region, is known to cause broad cognitive, emotional, and behavioral deficits, particularly in the case of disruption of the cerebellar output tract in children (
Coherence/Functional Connectivity Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders
In a study of resting state EEG activity that focused specifically on coherence in the low frequency (0.5–3.5 Hz) range,
While it is becoming increasingly clear that the cerebellum plays an important role in the development of cerebral functional networks, studies exploring the development of cerebrocerebellar functional connectivity in ASD are lacking. In the meantime, studies of cerebellar cortical development offer some clues as to a functional role of the cerebellum in ASD etiology. Focal gray matter volumes have been found to correlate with performance in specific cognitive domains (
While the results of these studies show some variability, they consistently show that the brains of individuals with ASD have deficits in intrinsic functional connectivity. Interestingly, these results show an apparent tendency toward low-complexity functional network organization in subjects with ASD (
Coherence/Functional Connectivity Abnormalities in Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like symptoms have long been associated with cerebellar neuropathology (Weinberger et al., 1980;
Karl Friston and Uta Frith proposed dysconnection as a cause of schizophrenia (
In an fMRI study that focused on network interactions,
There is currently no experimental work that would directly show a deficit in cerebellar coordination of CTC in schizophrenia. However, studies using cerebellar stimulation in schizophrenia patients provide evidence that delta and theta oscillation power, which is reduced in the frontal cortex of patients (
How the cerebellum modulates delta/theta power in the frontal cortex and how cerebellar neuropathology and its related functional pathophysiological defects would result in diminished delta/theta activity in schizophrenia is unclear. However, several studies have shown that the cerebellum modulates dopamine release in the frontal cortex (
Existing Views of Cerebrocerebellar Interactions
Cerebrocerebellar interactions have mostly been investigated in the motor domain. We agree with the premise brought forth in recent work (Wagner and Luo, 2019;
A recent study by Wagner et al. (2019) provided important new insights into cerebellar representation of cerebrocortical activity states. For their study, head-fixed mice learned to shift a lever to the left or right for a water reward while the activity of layer V (L5) neurons in the forelimb premotor area and GC activity in cerebellar lobule VI were monitored with 2P-calcium imaging throughout the learning process. As task performance improved, the activity patterns of L5 premotor cortical neurons and that of lobule VI GCs become increasingly similar (Wagner et al., 2019). Cerebrocerebellar interaction during a learned motor task thus ultimately may result in cerebral cortical activity states to be represented in the input layer of the cerebellar cortex. Importantly, this is consistent with other studies showing an increase in functional connectivity between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex during motor learning (
Testing the Validity of the Proposed New Role of the Cerebellum
Future animal and clinical (imaging) experiments should be designed to allow the analysis of cerebellar activity and its relationship to coherence between cerebral cortical areas. Currently, all experiments and analyses focus on modulation of activity in individual cerebral and cerebellar areas. The key is to rethink this approach and consider the functional connectivity via coherence between cerebral cortical areas as a dependent variable to correlate with cerebellar cortical activity. Human imaging studies lend themselves to this type of analysis but with the limitations that EEG and MEG, which capture fast dynamics, cannot readily access deep cerebellar structures. Magnetic resonance imaging can access activity in brain structures at any location but will only capture slow changes in activation. Animal studies that combine single-unit recordings in the cerebellum, thalamus and cerebral cortex with cell type specific manipulations of cerebrocerebellar connection pathways will be necessary to provide details about the circuits involved, the behaviors affected and the possible influence of neuromodulatory transmitters. The now well documented influence of cerebellar activity on dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex (
The principle of cerebellar coordination of precisely timed events, as it occurs in the control of muscle contractions to optimize motor coordination, is here applied to the coordination of neuronal oscillations to optimize cerebral cortical communication during cognitive processes. The elegance of this new perspective of cerebrocerebellar interaction lies in its intuitive simplicity that does not require additional assumptions about cerebellar function and can provide a functional interpretation of cerebellar cortical network architecture.
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Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
All authors contributed to the development of the concept. SM and DH wrote and edited the manuscript. YL and RS contributed to writing and editing.
Funding
SM was supported by American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. DH and YL were supported by R01MH112143, R01MH112143-02S1, and R37MH085726 and the University of Tennessee Neuroscience Institute. RS was supported by R01NS089664, R01NS100874, and 1P50HD103555.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Brittany Correia for valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
cerebellum, cerebrocerebellar communication, coherence, functional connectivity, cognition
Citation
McAfee SS, Liu Y, Sillitoe RV and Heck DH (2022) Cerebellar Coordination of Neuronal Communication in Cerebral Cortex. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 15:781527. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.781527
Received
22 September 2021
Accepted
10 December 2021
Published
11 January 2022
Volume
15 - 2021
Edited by
Marija Cvetanovic, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States
Reviewed by
Guy Cheron, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; Richard Apps, University of Bristol, United Kingdom; Martin Bares, Masaryk University, Czechia; Peter Tsai, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States
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© 2022 McAfee, Liu, Sillitoe and Heck.
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*Correspondence: Detlef H. Heck, dheck@uthsc.edu
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