# Cerebellar Fastigial Motor and Non-motor Circuits

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $503,322

## Abstract

Project Summary
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to provide new information about the
specific brain circuits which enable us to regulate our posture, movements, and arousal levels when we are
exposed to unexpected stimuli or potentially threatening conditions. Several psychiatric and neurological
disorders are associated with impairments in motor tone and arousal regulation which manifest as sensory
hypersensitivity, excessive startle reactivity, and increased anxiety. This research focuses on the cerebellum, a
part of the brain known best for its role in coordinating movements and learning to anticipate when and how to
move, but is also important for regulating wake-state arousal levels. Researchers and clinicians currently lack
specific information needed to develop and target new therapeutic treatments to patients who suffer from
dysregulation of defensive arousal. The specific objectives of this project are to provide anatomical,
physiological, and functional information about specific cerebellar cell types which regulate movements of the
trunk, head and eyes and levels of arousal via their synaptic connections with brainstem control centers. To
achieve these objectives, anatomical circuit analyses will map differential synaptic connectivity of specific
cerebellar neurons, neurophysiological analyses will be used to monitor activity in specific types of cerebellar
neurons under conditions of spontaneous and sensory- evoked arousal, and behavioral and physiological
analyses will determine the impact of manipulating activity of specific cerebellar cell types on the online and
learned regulation of arousal responses to unexpected or potentially threatening stimuli. These experiments
will provide a critical foundation for developing pharmacological or neurostimulation therapies for treating
patients who suffer from impairments in the abiilty to regulate how they respond to unexpected threatening
stimuli.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10846656
- **Project number:** 5R01NS132880-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SASCHA DU LAC
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $503,322
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-06-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10846656

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10846656, Cerebellar Fastigial Motor and Non-motor Circuits (5R01NS132880-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10846656. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*