The Growing Little Brain: Cerebellar Functional Development from Cradle to School

Abstract

Despite the cerebellum's crucial role in brain functions, its early development, particularly in relation to the cerebrum, remains poorly understood. Here, we examine cerebellocortical connectivity using over 1,000 high-quality resting-state functional MRI scans of children from birth to 60 months. By mapping cerebellar topography with fine temporal detail for the first time, we show the hierarchical and contralateral organization of cerebellocortical connectivity from birth. We observe dynamic shifts in cerebellar network gradients, which become more focal with age while maintaining stable anchor points similar to adults, highlighting the cerebellum's evolving yet stable role in functional integration during early development. Our findings provide the first evidence of cerebellar connections to higher-order networks at birth, which generally strengthen with age, emphasizing the cerebellum's early role in cognitive processing beyond sensory and motor functions. Our study provides insights into early cerebellocortical interactions, reveals functional asymmetry and sexual dimorphism in cerebellar development, and lays the groundwork for future research on cerebellum-related disorders in children.