Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development
Although the cerebellum is now recognized for its crucial role in non-motor functions such as language, perceptual processes, social communication, and executive function in adults, it is often overlooked in studies of non-motor behavioral development in infancy. Recent magnetic resonance imaging (M...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187892932500009X |
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| author | Lauren Wagner Melis E Cakar Megan Banchik Emily Chiem Siobhan Sive Glynn Amy H Than Shulamite A Green Mirella Dapretto |
| author_facet | Lauren Wagner Melis E Cakar Megan Banchik Emily Chiem Siobhan Sive Glynn Amy H Than Shulamite A Green Mirella Dapretto |
| author_sort | Lauren Wagner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the cerebellum is now recognized for its crucial role in non-motor functions such as language, perceptual processes, social communication, and executive function in adults, it is often overlooked in studies of non-motor behavioral development in infancy. Recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research increasingly shows the cerebellum is key to understanding the emergence of complex human behaviors and neurodevelopmental conditions. This review summarizes studies from diverse MRI modalities that link early cerebellar development from birth to age two with emerging non-motor behaviors and psychiatric symptomatology. Our focus centered on both term and preterm infants, excluding studies of perinatal injury and cerebellar pathology. We conclude that the cerebellum is implicated in many non-motor behaviors and implicit learning mechanisms in infancy. The field’s current limitations include inconsistencies in study design, a paucity of gold-standard infant neuroimaging tools, and treatment of the cerebellum as a uniform structure. Moving forward, the cerebellum should be considered a structure of greater interest to the developmental neuroimaging community. Studies should test developmental hypotheses about the behavioral roles of specific cerebro-cerebellar circuits, and theoretical frameworks such as Olson’s “model switch” hypothesis of cerebellar learning. Large-scale, longitudinal, well-powered neuroimaging studies of typical and preterm development will be key. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9adad3d597c7486a8f566a8013d96342 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1878-9293 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-9adad3d597c7486a8f566a8013d963422025-02-07T04:47:24ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932025-04-0172101514Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral developmentLauren Wagner0Melis E Cakar1Megan Banchik2Emily Chiem3Siobhan Sive Glynn4Amy H Than5Shulamite A Green6Mirella Dapretto7Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesNeuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesMolecular, Cellular, Integrative Physiology Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesNeuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Correspondence to: 660 Charles E Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.Although the cerebellum is now recognized for its crucial role in non-motor functions such as language, perceptual processes, social communication, and executive function in adults, it is often overlooked in studies of non-motor behavioral development in infancy. Recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research increasingly shows the cerebellum is key to understanding the emergence of complex human behaviors and neurodevelopmental conditions. This review summarizes studies from diverse MRI modalities that link early cerebellar development from birth to age two with emerging non-motor behaviors and psychiatric symptomatology. Our focus centered on both term and preterm infants, excluding studies of perinatal injury and cerebellar pathology. We conclude that the cerebellum is implicated in many non-motor behaviors and implicit learning mechanisms in infancy. The field’s current limitations include inconsistencies in study design, a paucity of gold-standard infant neuroimaging tools, and treatment of the cerebellum as a uniform structure. Moving forward, the cerebellum should be considered a structure of greater interest to the developmental neuroimaging community. Studies should test developmental hypotheses about the behavioral roles of specific cerebro-cerebellar circuits, and theoretical frameworks such as Olson’s “model switch” hypothesis of cerebellar learning. Large-scale, longitudinal, well-powered neuroimaging studies of typical and preterm development will be key.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187892932500009XCerebellumInfantBehaviorMRIFMRIMRS |
| spellingShingle | Lauren Wagner Melis E Cakar Megan Banchik Emily Chiem Siobhan Sive Glynn Amy H Than Shulamite A Green Mirella Dapretto Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Cerebellum Infant Behavior MRI FMRI MRS |
| title | Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| title_full | Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| title_fullStr | Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| title_short | Beyond motor learning: Insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| title_sort | beyond motor learning insights from infant magnetic resonance imaging on the critical role of the cerebellum in behavioral development |
| topic | Cerebellum Infant Behavior MRI FMRI MRS |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187892932500009X |
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