Novel insights from quantitative imaging of the developing cerebellum

SummaryThere is increasing evidence that points to the central role of the cerebellum in many areas of human behaviour – in health and in illness. The findings reviewed here shed further light on the developmental vulnerability of cerebellar cell types, and highlight the new imaging techniques being used in this research. This article reviews some new advances in our understanding of the normal cerebellar growth trajectory, and how this may become disturbed by pathological processes. Cerebellar development is now being implicated in many conditions, from autism and other neuropsychiatric disorders to diabetes.