About this Research Topic

Background

The role of the cerebellum in cognition has been gaining increasing attention in the past few years, evolving conceptually from a ‘silent bystander’ to a highly specialized cognitive brain region with precise and diversified anatomical and functional links to the cerebral cortex. Traditionally, the cerebellum has been considered to be relatively spared in primary neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, with its involvement being more prominent only in the latest stages of plaque deposition. However, new emerging evidence has challenged this view, thanks also to technical advances in neuroimaging techniques focused specifically on the cerebellum, which allow a more fine-grain characterization of cerebellar anatomy.

Cross-sectional case-control group-differences in cerebellar anatomy or function have only recently started to unravel specific patterns of atrophy and altered functional connectivity in different dementia types, but our understanding is still much more limited compared to cerebral cortex. Newly introduced cognitive scales targeting specifically cerebellar-type cognitive impairment have recently been introduced but is still unclear how they map into changes in structure or function in different neurodegenerative diseases.

This Research Topic highlights the role of the cerebellum in neurodegenerative diseases, with a specific focus on dementias. It will provide a comprehensive overview of this hot topic, with a particular emphasis on how anatomical, diffusion and functional measures of cerebellar integrity can synergistically inform our understanding of the contribution of the cerebellum to the clinical and cognitive profile of neurodegeneration.

Evidence from human as well non-human studies will be accepted. We will consider studies arising from different techniques, including but not restricted to neuroimaging, neuropathology, experimental psychology.

We seek Original Research, Review, Systematic Review, Mini-Review, Policy and Practice Reviews, Methods, Hypothesis and Theory, Perspective, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Brief Research report, General Commentary, Opinion and Editorials that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1) Structural, functional and diffusion imaging changes in the cerebellum in Alzheimer’s Disease, Frontotemporal lobe degeneration, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Multiple system atrophy, Corticobasal syndrome, Progressive supranuclear palsy, Primary Progressive Aphasias and other neurodegenerative diseases.
2) Multimodal studies looking at cerebellar involvement through different modalities.
3) Relationship with AD biomarkers, including Cerebrospinal fluid AD profile, amyloid and tau imaging.
4) Interplay between genetic risk factors for dementia and cerebellar involvement.
5) Correlations between cognitive scales, including the newly introduced CCAS scale (as well as ICARS, BARS, MMSE, MoCA), and anatomical, diffusion and functional changes in the cerebellum.
6) Comparative studies including patients with primary dementias and other neurodegenerative diseases with primary cerebellar involvement (as SCAs).
7) Data on the role of the cerebellum in disease staging, and information of its possible role as marker of clinical progression.
8) The role of the cerebellum in Covid-19 cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration.
9) Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to extract novel patterns of cognitive changes in the cerebellum.

The Topic Editors would like to take the occasion to acknowledge Dr. Helena Gellersen for her valuable work and enthusiastic participation into the elaboration of this Research Topic.

Keywords: Cerebellum, Dementia, Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s Disease, Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome (CCAS)

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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