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16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum's crucial role in human language
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-years-brain-scans-reveal-cerebellum.html
The cerebellum, often called the little brain, plays a much bigger role in language processing than once believed. Located at the base of the brain, the cerebellum has long been thought to be mainly responsible for motor response, balance, and basic coordination.
A recent large-scale study analyzing brain scans from over 900 participants revealed a surprising new specialization within this region.
Four specific regions in the cerebellum are closely connected to the brain's main language network, constantly communicating with it to help process human language. What was especially surprising is that one of these regions, called LangCereb3, appears to be a true language specialist, responding almost exclusively to language processing rather than to other kinds of mental tasks.
The researchers believe that since LangCereb3 works closely with the brain's main language center, it can be used as the target when treating patients with loss of ability to understand or express speech due to stroke or language disorders like aphasia.
The findings are published in Neuron.
. . .
A recent large-scale study analyzing brain scans from over 900 participants revealed a surprising new specialization within this region.
Four specific regions in the cerebellum are closely connected to the brain's main language network, constantly communicating with it to help process human language. What was especially surprising is that one of these regions, called LangCereb3, appears to be a true language specialist, responding almost exclusively to language processing rather than to other kinds of mental tasks.
The researchers believe that since LangCereb3 works closely with the brain's main language center, it can be used as the target when treating patients with loss of ability to understand or express speech due to stroke or language disorders like aphasia.
The findings are published in Neuron.
. . .
Publication details
Colton Casto et al, The cerebellar components of the human language network, Neuron (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.030
Colton Casto et al, The cerebellar components of the human language network, Neuron (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.030