# Intrinsic Functional Architecture of Dentate Nuclei in Autism Spectrum Disorder

> **NIH NIH R03** · NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $1

## Abstract

Title: Intrinsic Functional Architecture of Dentate Nuclei in Autism Spectrum
Disorder
Functional neuroanatomy in human dentate nucleus (DN) remains largely unmapped.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging research has redefined broad categories of
functional division in the human brain showing that primary processing, attentional “task
positive” processing, and default-mode “task negative” processing are three central
poles of neural macro-scale specialization. This new macro-scale understanding of the
range and poles of brain function has revealed that not only cerebral cortex, but also
thalamus, striatum, and cerebellar cortex contribute to the full spectrum of human neural
organization. Whether functional specialization in DN obeys a similar set of macroscale
divisions, and whether DN is yet another compartment of full-spectrum representation of
human brain function remains unknown. This proposal aims to explore functional
territories in human DN. Preliminary results using data-driven gradient-based clustering
analysis reveal three functional zones as indexed by high spatio-temporal resolution
resting-state MRI, and that these three distinct territories contribute uniquely to default-
mode, salience-motor, and visual brain networks. Our goal is to replicate the results in
an independent larger sample to provide a systems neuroscience substrate for
cerebellar output to influence all broad categories of neural control – namely default-
mode, attentional, and multiple unimodal streams of information processing including
motor and visual. The overarching aim of this proposal is to apply these functional
territories towards clinical translation, specifically in the context of Autism Spectrum
Disorder.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10057096
- **Project number:** 1R03MH121879-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sheeba Anteraper
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-08 → 2021-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10057096

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10057096, Intrinsic Functional Architecture of Dentate Nuclei in Autism Spectrum Disorder (1R03MH121879-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10057096. Licensed CC0.

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