Lesion-symptom mapping of the human cerebellum

Dagmar Timmann, Michael Küuper, Elke R. Gizewski, Beate Schoch, Opher Donchin

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although the function of the cerebellum cannot be inferred from lesion data alone, it is still of major scientific and clinical interest to assess whether lesions of a given cerebellar area lead to specific behavioral deficits. The introduction of high-resolution structural brain imaging and new analysis methods has lead to significant improvement in the ability to draw such conclusions. Lesion-symptom mapping is now possible with a spatial resolution at the level of individual lobules and nuclei of the cerebellum. The investigation of patients with defined focal lesions yields the greatest potential for obtaining meaningful correlations between lesion site and behavioral deficits. In smaller groups of patients, overlay plots and subtraction analysis are good options. If larger groups of patients are available, different statistical techniques have been introduced to compare behavior and lesion site on a voxel-by-voxel basis. Although localization in degenerative cerebellar disorders is less accurate because of the diffuse nature of the disease, certain information about the supposed function of larger subdivisions of the cerebellum can be gained. This review highlights the current developments of lesion-symptom mapping in human cerebellar lesion studies. Examples are given which show that meaningful correlations between lesion site and behavioral data can be obtained both in patients with degenerative as well as focal cerebellar disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders
PublisherSpringer Netherlands
Pages1627-1656
Number of pages30
ISBN (Electronic)9789400713338
ISBN (Print)9789400713321
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine
  • General Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Lesion-symptom mapping of the human cerebellum'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this