Functional boundaries in the human cerebellum revealed by a multi-domain task battery

Nat Neurosci. 2019 Aug;22(8):1371-1378. doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0436-x. Epub 2019 Jul 8.

Abstract

There is compelling evidence that the human cerebellum is engaged in a wide array of motor and cognitive tasks. A fundamental question centers on whether the cerebellum is organized into distinct functional subregions. To address this question, we employed a rich task battery designed to tap into a broad range of cognitive processes. During four functional MRI sessions, participants performed a battery of 26 diverse tasks comprising 47 unique conditions. Using the data from this multi-domain task battery, we derived a comprehensive functional parcellation of the cerebellar cortex and evaluated it by predicting functional boundaries in a novel set of tasks. The new parcellation successfully identified distinct functional subregions, providing significant improvements over existing parcellations derived from task-free data. Lobular boundaries, commonly used to summarize functional data, did not coincide with functional subdivisions. The new parcellation provides a functional atlas to guide future neuroimaging studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Atlases as Topic
  • Brain Mapping
  • Cerebellar Cortex / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebellar Cortex / physiology
  • Cerebellum / diagnostic imaging*
  • Cerebellum / physiology*
  • Eye Movements
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Movement / physiology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Young Adult