Research Note: Functional Connectivity Between a Corticostriatal Network and the Cerebellum.

Abstract

Basal ganglia and cerebellum are structurally and functionally connected in animals. In humans, tractography and seed-based functional connectivity have confirmed this cerebellar-striatal relation. Independent component analysis (ICA) showed that both cerebellum and basal ganglia take part in distinct intrinsic networks. Probabilistic ICA analysis was applied to the brain images of 15 healthy volunteers during the resting state and using a 3T MRI. A spatial map corresponding to dorsal and ventral basal ganglia circuits was also found to be in functional coherence with crus 2, especially with its vermal region. It is speculated that such cerebellar-basal ganglionic rsFC could reflect structural interconnections traced in animals and explain reward-based activity detected in the cerebellum.