The role of cerebellar impairment in emotion processing: a case study

Abstract

BackgroundThough the cerebellum’s role in visuospatial and fine motor functioning has been well-established over the last several years, the role of the cerebellum in emotion has more recently been a focus of scientific inquiry. Cerebellar impairment has been associated with deficits in emotional processing and is linked to a wide range of clinical behaviors including social withdrawal, blunted emotional expression, and impulsivity. In addition, cerebellar impairments have been associated with the onset of psychiatric disorders including major depressive disorder and, more recently, obsessive-compulsive disorder.Case presentationWe describe a 32-year-old patient who presented to our clinic for a neuropsychological evaluation with a childhood history of a cerebellar brain tumor and detail-oriented, perfectionistic tendencies. Neuropsychological assessment data revealed impairments in visuospatial processing and in fine motor skills, likely stemming from the cerebellar tumor. Clinical assessment led to a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and also suggested impairments in socio-emotional processing.ConclusionsOur findings lend support to recent data which has suggested the impact of cerebellar impairment on emotional processing and related domains. Unlike many previous studies, however, our report focuses on an individual who, despite having marked impairments in certain domains, demonstrates a high level of functioning. We believe that this report holds important clinical relevance for proper diagnosis of cerebellar-related impairment and for the necessity of early intervention.

Time‐varying dynamic Bayesian network learning for an fMRI study of emotion processing

“…70 The cerebellum's connection to the emotional processing task has been well-studied in the literature. [71][72][73] Our results further showed that during emotion processing, there were more active connections in the pathways of Sub-Cer ↔ Motor, Sub-Cer → Vis II, and Sub-Cer → Vis Assn than during shape processing.…”

Resting state functional connectivity as a predictor of brief intervention response in adults with alcohol use disorder: A preliminary study

“…Furthermore, higher levels of within‐session sustain talk were found to predict poorer alcohol use outcomes at 3 and 12 months following a brief MI intervention in college students (Apodaca et al, 2014). When taken together, decreased rsFC between the left IFG (pars triangularis) and the cerebellum—a region which has been implicated in emotional control and cognitive functioning (Brissenden et al, 2016; Gold & Toomey, 2018), suggests that at baseline, intervention responders had decreased rsFC between regions associated with impulsivity and emotional and cognitive processes at baseline in intervention responders. Interestingly, the opposite pattern of rsFC was seen between the right IFG (attentional control, cognitive appraisal, and inhibition) and the cerebellum and right occipital fusiform gyrus.…”

Cerebellar pathology in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: current status and future directions

“…[50][51][52] However, anatomical, neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies have identified cerebellar regions connected to cerebral association areas, resulting in an appreciation of the role of the cerebellum in processing cognitive information. [53][54][55] Therefore, it is not surprising that cerebellar deficits are a common feature of MS and other symptoms including impaired executive function, memory, verbal fluency or emotional regulation are also recognized as consequences of cerebellar dysfunction. [56][57][58] The prevalence of cerebellar symptoms in MS is uncertain, because they involve other CNS regions, but cerebellar signs are estimated to constitute the predominant clinical manifestation in 11-13% of people with MS. 18 Also, of particular relevance to MS are differences between men and women in the brain architecture and circuitry, where for example, men have a greater cerebellar volume than women.…”