Ricerc@Sapienza

In the last few decades, there have been an increasing number of studies focusing on better characterizing the cerebellar functions beyond motor control, including emotional and social domains. Anatomical and functional evidence strongly contributes to delineating the cerebellar functional subdivisions and their integration with cerebral functional networks strictly related to emotional regulation and social functioning, thus suggesting a model of cerebellar organization that resembles that of the cerebral cortex.

Recent studies have focused on the role of the cerebellum in the social domain, including in Theory of Mind (ToM). ToM, or the "mentalizing" process, is the ability to attribute mental states, such as emotion, intentions and beliefs, to others to explain and predict their behavior. It is a fundamental aspect of social cognition and crucial for social interactions, together with more automatic mechanisms, such as emotion contagion. Social cognition requires complex interactions between limbic, associative areas and subcortical structures, including the cerebellum.