Cerebellar development and its mediation role in cognitive planning in childhood

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the cerebellum contributes not only to the planning and execution of movement but also to the high-order cognitive planning. Childhood is a critical period for development of the cerebellum and cognitive planning. This study aimed (a) to examine the development of cerebellar morphology and microstructure and (b) to examine the cerebellar mediation roles in the relationship between age and cognitive planning in 6- to 10-year-old children (n = 126). We used an anatomical parcellation to quantify cerebellar regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes, and WM microstructure, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). We assessed planning ability using the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) task in all children. We revealed (a) a measure-specific anterior-to-posterior gradient of the cerebellar development in childhood, that is, smaller GM volumes and greater WM FA of the anterior segment of the cerebellum but larger GM volumes and lower WM FA in the posterior segment of the cerebellum in older children; (b) an age-related improvement of the SOC performance at the most demanding level of five-move problems; and (c) a mediation role of the lateral cerebellar WM volumes in age-related improvement in the SOC performance in childhood. These results highlight the differential development of the cerebellum during childhood and provide evidence that brain adaptation to the acquisition of planning ability during childhood could partially be achieved through the engagement of the lateral cerebellum.