Frequency-dependent cerebellar circuits independently gate social vocalizations and movement
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Communication depends on precise coordination between motor execution and cognition. Here we reveal that the cerebellum exerts real-time control over social vocalizations in adult mice. Optogenetic activation of excitatory cerebellar output in the superior cerebellar peduncle suppressed ultrasonic vocalizations with frequency-dependent potency while inducing distinct motor phenotypes. Systematic functional mapping across cerebellar regions and cell types revealed that vocal suppression can occur in the absence of overt motor impairment, suggesting selective control of vocal output beyond gross movement disruption. We identified the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a conserved midbrain vocal control center, as a key downstream mediator of this effect. Deep brain stimulation of the PAG rescued vocal deficits in a model of cerebellar dysfunction without rescuing motor incoordination. These findings define a cerebellar-midbrain pathway that gates vocal behavior and demonstrate that targeted therapeutic neuromodulation can selectively restore communication-related output even in the presence of persistent cerebellar-driven motor deficits.
Source: iScience
Institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,240
Funders: U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Simons Foundation, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Family Foundation, Science Foundation Ireland, National Institutes of Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1095902784, G1245546669, Baylor Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers, G4062079724, G5225628805, G6658732383, Baylor College of Medicine Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Cerebellar Deep Brain Stimulation, G8000232737, G8357022484, A CHOLINERGIC NEUROCIRCUIT REGULATES FEEDING BEHAVIOR, Genetically Dissecting Cholinergic Signaling in Body Weight Control, Spatial and temporal pathophysiology of developmental dystonia, G9000924418, G9000924460
OpenAlex ID: W7214905088