Early development of cerebellar functional connectivity
- 1King's College London
Abstract
The cerebellum makes a critical contribution to cognitive and behavioural function, extending well beyond motor control, and is recognised as an important determinant of neurodevelopmental outcome. Despite this, little is known about the foundations of cerebellar functional organisation in early life. Addressing this gap is essential for establishing typical developmental trajectories against which atypical development can be assessed. Here, we analysed fMRI data from term-born neonates (n=155) scanned between 37 and 44 weeks postmenstrual age and mapped intra-cerebellar and cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity across multiple levels of organisation. We identified 13 intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) within the neonatal cerebellum that recapitulated adult subdivisions, with two ICNs showing age-related increases in coverage and strength. Analysis of cerebro-cerebellar connectivity identified 15 sensory, motor and association cerebral clusters, seven increasing connectivity with age. Functional gradient analysis identified a continuous axis from somatomotor to association regions within intra-cerebellar and cerebro-cerebellar organisation, which became more pronounced with age. Together, these findings suggest that the foundations of adult cerebellar functional organisation are present at birth but undergo rapid and regionally heterogeneous maturation over the first weeks of postnatal life. This developmental framework provides a normative reference for understanding cerebellar development and its implications for later neurodevelopmental variation.
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BibTeX
@misc{treder2026early,
title = {{Early development of cerebellar functional connectivity}},
author = {N. Treder and S. Fenn-Moltu and S. Oldham and Q. Chang and J. O'Muircheartaigh and D. Kostadinov and T. Arichi and G. M. McAlonan and D. Batalle},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.22.760960},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.22.760960v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Early development of cerebellar functional connectivity
AU - N. Treder
AU - S. Fenn-Moltu
AU - S. Oldham
AU - Q. Chang
AU - J. O'Muircheartaigh
AU - D. Kostadinov
AU - T. Arichi
AU - G. M. McAlonan
AU - D. Batalle
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.22.760960
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.22.760960v1
AB - The cerebellum makes a critical contribution to cognitive and behavioural function, extending well beyond motor control, and is recognised as an important determinant of neurodevelopmental outcome. Despite this, little is known about the foundations of cerebellar functional organisation in early life. Addressing this gap is essential for establishing typical developmental trajectories against which atypical development can be assessed. Here, we analysed fMRI data from term-born neonates (n=155) scanned between 37 and 44 weeks postmenstrual age and mapped intra-cerebellar and cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity across multiple levels of organisation. We identified 13 intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) within the neonatal cerebellum that recapitulated adult subdivisions, with two ICNs showing age-related increases in coverage and strength. Analysis of cerebro-cerebellar connectivity identified 15 sensory, motor and association cerebral clusters, seven increasing connectivity with age. Functional gradient analysis identified a continuous axis from somatomotor to association regions within intra-cerebellar and cerebro-cerebellar organisation, which became more pronounced with age. Together, these findings suggest that the foundations of adult cerebellar functional organisation are present at birth but undergo rapid and regionally heterogeneous maturation over the first weeks of postnatal life. This developmental framework provides a normative reference for understanding cerebellar development and its implications for later neurodevelopmental variation.
ER -