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Functional Gradients of the Cerebellum: a Review of Practical Applications

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Abstract

Gradient-based analyses have contributed to the description of cerebellar functional neuroanatomy. More recently, functional gradients of the cerebellum have been used as a multi-purpose tool for neuroimaging research. Here, we provide an overview of the many practical applications of cerebellar functional gradient analyses. These practical applications include examination of intra-cerebellar and cerebellar-extracerebellar organization; transformation of functional gradients into parcellations with discrete borders; projection of functional gradients calculated within cerebellar structures to other extracerebellar structures; interpretation of cerebellar neuroimaging findings using qualitative and quantitative methods; detection of differences in patient populations; and other more complex practical applications of cerebellar gradient-based analyses. This review may serve as an introduction and catalog of options for neuroscientists who wish to design and analyze imaging studies using functional gradients of the cerebellum.

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Acknowledgements

The author expresses his deep gratitude to Jeremy Schmahmann, MD, John Gabrieli, PhD, and Satrajit Ghosh, PhD for their mentorship and support that were essential for the development of many of the concepts presented here. The author also gratefully acknowledges the thoughtful critique of this manuscript offered by Jeremy Schmahmann, MD. Data were provided in part by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 National Institutes of Health and Centers that support the Nation Institutes of Health Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. This work was supported in part by La Caixa Foundation (XG) and by the Massachusetts General Hospital Fund for Medical Discovery Award (XG).

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  1. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA, 20114, USA

    Xavier Guell

  2. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Xavier Guell

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Correspondence to Xavier Guell.

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Guell, X. Functional Gradients of the Cerebellum: a Review of Practical Applications. Cerebellum 21, 1061–1072 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-021-01342-8

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