Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tübingen Medical School, and Developmental Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.
Neuroimage. 2012 Feb 1;59(3):2824-30. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.039. Epub 2011 Oct 13.
The cerebellum is thought to be engaged not only in motor control, but also in the neural network dedicated to visual processing of body motion. However, the pattern of connectivity within this network, in particular, between the cortical circuitry for observation of others' actions and the cerebellum remains largely unknown. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with functional connectivity analysis and dynamic causal modelling (DCM), we assessed cerebro-cerebellar connectivity during a visual perceptual task with point-light displays depicting human locomotion. In the left lateral cerebellum, regions in the lobules Crus I and VIIB exhibited increased fMRI response to biological motion. The outcome of the connectivity analyses delivered the first evidence for reciprocal communication between the left lateral cerebellum and the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). Through communication with the right posterior STS that is a key node not only for biological motion perception but also for social interaction and visual tasks on theory of mind, the left cerebellum might be involved in a wide range of social cognitive functions.
小脑不仅被认为参与运动控制，还参与专门用于身体运动视觉处理的神经网络。然而，这个网络内的连接模式，特别是观察他人动作的皮质电路与小脑之间的连接模式，在很大程度上仍然未知。通过将功能磁共振成像（fMRI）与功能连接分析和动态因果建模（DCM）相结合，我们评估了在描绘人类运动的点光显示的视觉感知任务期间小脑-小脑连接。在左侧小脑外侧，在 Crus I 和 VIIB 叶的区域显示出对生物运动的 fMRI 反应增加。连接分析的结果提供了第一个证据，证明左侧小脑外侧与右侧后上颞叶（STS）之间存在相互交流。通过与右侧后 STS 的交流，该区域不仅是生物运动感知的关键节点，也是社会互动和心理理论的视觉任务的关键节点，左侧小脑可能参与了广泛的社会认知功能。
