Ricerc@Sapienza

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by specific patterns of grey and white matter damage and cognitive/behavioral manifestations. The cerebellum has also been implicated in the pathophysiology of AD. Since the cerebellum is known to have strong functional connectivity (FC) with associative cerebral cortex regions, it is possible to hypothesize that it is incorporated into intrinsic FC networks relevant to cognitive manifestation of Alzheimer disease.

In recent years, increasing evidence of the cerebellar role in social cognition has emerged. The cerebellum has been shown to modulate cortical activity of social brain regions serving as a regulator of function-specific mentalizing and mirroring processes. In particular, a mentalizing area in the posterior cerebellum, specifically Crus II, is preferentially recruited for more complex and abstract forms of social processing, together with mentalizing cerebral areas including the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), and the precuneus.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive cerebellar syndrome, which can be isolated or associated with extracerebellar signs. It has been shown that patients affected by SCA2 present also cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms.