#cerebellum

microscopic images

brain cortex;

brain cortex with better vision of the neurons;

mammalian gland;

trachea;

cerebellum;

also cerebellum. both images are beautiful i couldn't choose just one;

sublingual gland

Recently, I have been doing alot of medical tests and have made the discovery that I have multiple chronic conditions that have been silently affecting my lifestyle for years. Due to some hereditary stuff on my mom's side, i was diagnosed with cerebellar agenesis and hEDS.

There isn't really many concrete treatments for either but I feel that it could prevent many dangerous falls (I have fallen down the stairs multiple times throughout my life) for me to have a mobility aid in the form of a service dog specifically for balance support, since that is one of my biggest challenges with coordination.

I've been doing extensive research to see if it would be a good fit but I would like to hear from real people with experience about their thoughts on the matter.

If you're a mobility service dog handler, I'd especially love to hear what made you decide a service dog was the right mobility aid, what challenges you didn't expect, and whether you'd recommend one for someone with chronic balance issues.

Spotting the Difference

We might not look alike but we humans share around 85% of our genes with mice. The similarities don’t end there. Our brains are similar too. That’s why mouse brains are used as models to investigate human brain biology. However, when using mouse models, it’s nonetheless helpful to know where the differences lie. Researchers examine the differences between human and mouse cerebellums – the back part of the brain that controls movement – specifically neurons called Purkinje cells (PCs). Using confocal microscopy of human brain tissue labelled with a marker for PCs and brain tissue from mice genetically altered to tag their PCs, they created digital reconstructions of these neurons (pictured here from humans). Focussing on PC projections (dendrites) that receive signals from other neurons, the team found human and mouse PCs had similar dendrite branching patterns but human dendrites were denser and branched much more horizontally, creating more far-reaching PCs. It’s thought this arrangement bestows potentially more functional diversity than that found in mice.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Image from work by Silas E Busch and Christian Hansel

Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in eLife (reviewed preprint), January 2025

The Cerebellum and the Motor Cortex: Multiple Networks Controlling Multiple Aspects of Behavior. Spampinato, D. A., Casula, E. P., & Koch, G. (2024). The Neuroscientist, 30(6), 723–743.

Neurobiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: historical challenges and emerging frontiers. Koirala, S., Grimsrud, G., Mooney, M. A., Larsen, B., Feczko, E., Elison, J. T., Nelson, S. M., Nigg, J. T., Tervo-Clemmens, B., & Fair, D. A. (2024). Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 25(12), 759–775.

Milking a spherical cow: Toy models in neuroscience. Beer, R. D., Barwich, A., & Severino, G. J. (2024). European Journal of Neuroscience, 60(10), 6359–6374.

The cerebellum, a part of the brain well known for helping to coordinate movement and balance, can influence emotion and memory, which post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects. What isn’t known yet is whether a smaller cerebellum predisposes a person to PTSD or PTSD shrinks the brain region.