Distinct Cerebellar Neurons Impact Motor and Social Behaviors

Two types of neurons in the cerebellum, excitatory glutamatergic neurons in the cerebellar cortex and cerebellar nuclei, play distinct roles in regulating motor and non-motor behaviors during development and adulthood. Silencing these neurons in early postnatal stages caused severe impairments in both motor and social vocalization behavior, but natural molecular transitions later normalized social behaviors with only mild motor deficits persisting in adult mice. The cerebellar cortex neurons control the acquisition of social skills whereas the cerebellar nuclei affect the establishment of motor behaviors, showing that the brain can compensate for some, but not all, perturbations occurring in the developing cerebellum.