Cerebellar Contributions to Social Cognition in ASD: A Predictive Processing Framework

Abstract

Functional, structural, and cytoarchitectural differences in the cerebellum are consistently reported in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Despite this, the mechanisms governing cerebellar contributions to ASD, particularly within the sociocognitive domain, are not well understood. Recently, it has been suggested that several core features of ASD may be associated with challenges creating and using prior expectations or predictions to rapidly adapt to changing stimuli or situations, also known as adaptive prediction. Importantly, neuroimaging, clinical, and animal work find that the cerebellum supports adaptive prediction in both motor and non-motor domains. Perturbations to the cerebellum via injury or neuromodulation have been associated with impairments in predictive skills. Here, we review evidence for a cerebellar role in social cognition and adaptive prediction across individuals with and without ASD.

Emerging signs of autism spectrum disorder in infancy: Putative neural substrate

“…Likewise, the dissolution of the cerebellar EGL and the altered dissolution of the subplate in the parietal cortex may promote the expression of motor signs, that is, impaired adaptability giving rise to slower motor development and the emergence of repetitive motor sequences. 32 , 38 , 67 , 68 …”

Modulating mental state recognition by anodal tDCS over the cerebellum

“…Over the last decades, the cerebellum has been recognized as a critical structure not only in motor control but also in cognitive and affective functioning [1][2][3][4][5][6] . More recently, increasing evidence has extended the role of this brain region in the social cognition domain [7][8][9][10][11] . Specifically, several neuroimaging studies have shown cerebellar activation in social cognition tasks [12][13][14][15] and its functional connections with brain regions belonging to the 'social brain network' (i.e., the default mode network) [16][17][18][19][20][21] .…”

Cerebellar Structure and Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…For example, Van Overwalle and colleagues [ 29 ] conducted a meta-analysis of over 350 fMRI studies which revealed that abstraction processes in social cognition (e.g., thinking about oneself in the future and recalling autobiographical past) activated various regions within the cerebellum in non-clinical populations. Given the cerebellum appears to be integral in social cognitive processes also impaired in ASD, recent theories of adaptive social prediction have begun to ascribe cerebellar contributions to the anticipation of a social partner’s thoughts and intentions or to make inferences of other’s mental states [ 29 , 34 – 36 ].…”

“…Fundamental social cognitive processes used in many day-to-day social and communicative functions seem to be mediated by Crus I and II–PFC circuit connectivity, and this network has been found to be particularly affected in ASD as the impairment of this circuit seems to contribute to core symptoms of the disorder [ 35 , 38 , 39 ]. It is important to note that findings in ASD consistently point toward a reduction of volume in posterior Crus I/II lobules [ 34 ], areas which have been implicated in multiple social cognitive processes [ 29 , 40 , 41 ].…”