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Functional recruitment and connectivity of the cerebellum is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood

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  • Aikaterina Manoli

    (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
    Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
    Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
    Research Centre Jülich)

  • Frank Overwalle

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann

    (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
    University of Technology Nuremberg)

  • Sofie L. Valk

    (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
    Research Centre Jülich
    Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

Abstract

There is accumulating evidence that the human cerebellum is heavily implicated in adult social cognition. Yet, its involvement in the development of Theory of Mind (ToM), a hallmark of social cognition, remains elusive. Using openly available functional MRI data of children with emerging ToM abilities (N = 41, age range: 3-12 years) and adults (N = 78), we show that children who pass a false-belief assessment of ToM abilities activate cerebellar Crus I-II in response to ToM events during a movie-watching task, similar to adults. This activation is not statistically significant in children who do not pass the ToM assessment. Functional connectivity profiles between cerebellar and cerebral ToM regions differ as a function of children’s ToM abilities. Notably, task-driven connectivity shifts from upstream to downstream connections between cerebellar and cerebral ToM regions from childhood to adulthood. Greater dependence on connections emerging from the cerebellum early in life suggests an important role of the cerebellum in establishing the cognitive processes underlying ToM in childhood and thus for the undisrupted development of social cognition.

Suggested Citation

  • Aikaterina Manoli & Frank Overwalle & Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann & Sofie L. Valk, 2025. "Functional recruitment and connectivity of the cerebellum is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-60523-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60523-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hilary Richardson & Grace Lisandrelli & Alexa Riobueno-Naylor & Rebecca Saxe, 2018. "Development of the social brain from age three to twelve years," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann & Jan Schreiber & Tania Singer & Nikolaus Steinbeis & Angela D. Friederici, 2017. "White matter maturation is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, April.
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