Using individualised cerebellar ultrasound stimulation to establish a causal cerebellar contribution to social cognition

Cerebellar involvement in social cognition has been observed for decades, yet we do not understand how the cerebellum contributes to social cognition. This hinders the development of therapies for social impairments driven by cerebellar dysfunction, reducing patients’ quality of life. Causally manipulating activity in cerebellar social regions could answer key questions and provide new therapies, but social regions vary highly between individuals. I will combine transcranial ultrasound stimulation with cerebellar precision mapping to develop individualised ultrasound stimulation and investigate the causal role of the cerebellum in social cognition. My proposal has three aims. First, I will determine which social processes selectively recruit the cerebellum and how they are distributed across different cerebellar functional regions. Second, I will use individualised ultrasound stimulation to establish a causal cerebellar contribution to these social processes. Third, I will test whether individualised cerebellar stimulation can ameliorate social impairments in patients with cerebellar degeneration. By tracking neurochemicals in cerebellar regions, I will determine the physiological mechanisms that underpin this stimulation effect. My work aims to offer a paradigm shift in cognitive neuroscience by considering the critical contributions of a phylogenetically older subcortical structure, not based on correlational evidence but in terms of its causal contributions.