LAUSR

Cerebellar cortex, which is cytoarchitectonically homogenous, can be functionally differentiated by connectivity differences across the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortical dorsal attention network exhibits strong, selective connectivity with a set of cerebellar circuits, including lobule VIIb/VIIIa. Recent findings demonstrate that lobule VIIb/VIIIa exhibits functional properties characteristic of the cortical dorsal attention network: task-specific activation; working memory load-dependent responses; and the representation of visuospatial location. Moreover, functional cortico-cerebellar subnetworks exhibit topographic specialization for different aspects of visual attentional processing. Thus, cerebellar lobule VIIb/VIIIa, rather than simply supporting motor functions, appears to be an integral part of the brain's visual attentional circuitry. More generally, these findings suggest that parallel cortico-cerebellar networks may play highly specific functional roles in a broad range of cognitive processes.