Functional MRI of the deep cerebellar nuclei

Background: Dum and Strick (J Neurophysiol; 2003; 89: 634–639) proposed a division of the cerebellar dentate nucleus into a „motor“ and „nonmotor“ area based on animal data. We asked the question if motor and nonmotor domains of the dentate nucleus can be found in humans using fMRI. Dentate activation was compared in motor tasks of different complexity and two cognitive tests of executive function, that is verbal working memory and planning. Methods: A total of 23 right-handed healthy subjects (7 male/16 female, mean age of 27,8±6,3 years) participated. Only data of individual subjects were included in final ana…