# Cerebellar circuits, timing, and cognition

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $446,187

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The cerebellum is densely connected to the cerebral cortex allowing it to powerfully modulate diverse cognitive networks.
The specific mechanisms by which the cerebellum modulates the frontal cortex are unknown. In neuropsychiatric diseases
such as schizophrenia and autism, deficits in working memory, attention, reasoning, and timing are accompanied by
cerebellar abnormalities – both structural and functional. There are currently no effective treatments for cognitive
dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disease. Understanding cerebellar modulation of frontal circuits may lead to novel
treatments targeting the cerebellum for cognitive dysfunction in human disease. For instance, cerebellar transcranial
magnetic stimulation has been effective in improving cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Our goal is to understand
how the cerebellum encodes timing for key cognitive events in order to understand how cerebellar stimulation influences
cognition and frontal cortical activity. We will determine the lateral cerebellar nuclear and cerebellar cortical contribution
to timing of key cognitive events by investigating how these regions encode time-dependent neuronal activity. We will
determine if cerebellar stimulation can correct dysfunctional frontal cortical activity, rescuing timing and cognitive
performance. Additionally, we will characterize long-term changes to performance, frontal cortical plasticity, and
cerebellar-frontal circuitry. Results from the proposed experiments will provide fundamental mechanistic insight into the
role of the cerebellum in cognition and may advance cerebellar stimulation as a therapy for schizophrenia and other brain
diseases.
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10071095
- **Project number:** 5R01MH118240-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Krystal Lynn Parker
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $446,187
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-01 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10071095

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10071095, Cerebellar circuits, timing, and cognition (5R01MH118240-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10071095. Licensed CC0.

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