What Role does the Cerebellum Play in Language Processing?

Abstract

Beginning with Rolando and Flourens' early nineteenth-century documentation of the role of cerebellar lesions in disturbances of gait, posture, and voluntary coordi nation of movement, the cerebellum has been considered a primary player in motor behavior (Schmahmann, 1997). In 1922, Holmes was the first to document that focal cerebellar lesions produce speech motor de ficits, suggesting a role for the cerebellum in speech production (Holmes, 1922). However, only recently has inter est arisen in exploring the nonmotor roles the cerebellum might play in cognition, including language processing (Schmahmann, 1997).Neuroanatomically, it is plausible that the cerebellum plays a role in language processing, given the reciprocal loops that link the cerebellum directly to or near the vicinity oflanguage association regions in prefrontal cortex and temporal cortex. Output from the ventral dentate nucleus of the cerebellum projects to the ventro lateral nucleus of the thalamus and continues upward toward prefrontal regions (Leiner, Leiner, & Dow, 1986, 1991. Conversely, input to the cerebellum originates from the prefrontal cortex, as well as the upper bank of the temporal lobe's superior temporal sulcus, and traverses down through the pons and on to the lateral cerebel lar hemispheres (Schmahmann, 1991;Schmahmann & Pandya, 1997). These cerebro-cerebellar loops may allow the cerebellum to act as an "adjunct of the cer ebral cortex" (Leiner et al., 1986(Leiner et al., , p. 1006.In the late 1980s, Petersen, Fox, Posner, Mintun, and Raichle (1989) conducted a pioneering study using positron emission tomography (PET). Not only was their collection of PET data a technological advance, but also their use of a high-level baseline condition, to control for the cerebellum's participation in speech motorThe Handbook of the Neuropsychology o f Language, First Edition. Edited by Miriam Faust.

fMRI connectivity of expressive language in young children and adolescents

“…The left perisylvian cortex, including canonical Broca's and Wernicke's areas, is known to support gross language processes in healthy adults (Binder et al, ; Friederici, ; Gabrieli, Poldrack, & Desmond, ; Hirata et al, ; Kadis et al, ; Lohmann et al, ; Pei et al, ; Price, ; Purves et al, ; Toga and Thompson, ; Turken and Dronkers, ). However, participation of right perisylvian cortex and subcortical and cerebellar regions in language have also been documented (Berl et al, ; Booth, Wood, Lu, Houk, & Bitan, ; Desmond, Gabrieli, & Glover, ; Ferstl, Neumann, Bogler, & Von Cramon, ; Frings et al, ; Gabrieli et al, ; Houk et al, ; Kellett, Kellett, Stevenson, & Gernsbacher, ; Middleton and Strick, ; Muller and Meyer, ; Murdoch, ; Schmahmann, ; Stoodley, Valera, & Schmahmann, ; Stoodley and Schmahmann, ; Verly et al, ). In particular, seminal anatomical and behavioral studies have shown nonmotor contributions of the (right) cerebellum in a range of cognitive processes, including language (Leiner, Leiner, & Dow, ; Petersen, Fox, Snyder, & Raichle, ; Raichle et al, ; Schmahmann, ; see Price, , for review).…”

Reinvestigating the Neural Bases Involved in Speech Production of Stutterers: An ALE Meta-Analysis

“…The cognitive functions of the cerebellum in language processing have attracted much attention over the past few decades. Systematic reviews have been updating related findings [ 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 ]. Studies on language processing have found activity in the cerebellum across various linguistic components: phonological [ 108 , 109 , 110 ], lexico-sematic [ 111 , 112 ], semantic [ 113 , 114 ], syntactic [ 115 , 116 ], and discourse [ 117 ].…”