Posterior Vermis (Lobules VI–IX)

Anatomy

• The midline strip between the hemispheres: declive (VI), folium and tuber (VII), pyramis (VIII), uvula (IX).
• Sends output to the vestibular nuclei and reticular formation via the fastigial nucleus.

Functions

• Emotion regulation and affect (Schmahmann’s concept of the “limbic cerebellum”).
• Calibration of saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements (oculomotor vermis VI–VII).

Clinical

• ASD: hypoplasia of vermis VI–VII has been reported (Courchesne et al., 1988).
• ADHD: reduced posterior-inferior vermis volume.
• Posterior fossa syndrome (cerebellar mutism): in children after surgery for a vermis tumor.

In the model

How this structure is defined in the 3D model, and the data source.

SUIT atlas (Diedrichsen et al., 2009) lobule labels; each point of the cerebellar surface was assigned to the nearest lobule just beneath it. Overlap between SUIT and the model’s cerebellum: Dice 0.90. Because vermis I–V is not labeled separately in SUIT, it is included in the anterior lobe, and vermis X (nodulus) in the flocculonodular lobe.

References

Full citations for the card; links go to the paper (DOI) or a PubMed search.

1. Courchesne E et al. Hypoplasia of cerebellar vermal lobules VI and VII in autism. N Engl J Med 1988;318(21):1349–1354. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM198805263182102