Cerebellar Volumetric Changes Support Two Systems of Theory of Mind in Early Childhood
Presented During:
Saturday, June 28, 2025: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Room:
M3 (Mezzanine Level)
Poster No:
638
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Aikaterina Manoli1,2,3, Nilsu Saglam1, Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann1, Sofie Valk1
Institutions:
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, 2Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany, 3Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
First Author:
Aikaterina Manoli
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences|Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich|Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University
Leipzig, Germany|Jülich, Germany|Leipzig, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences|Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich|Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University
Leipzig, Germany|Jülich, Germany|Leipzig, Germany
Co-Author(s):
Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann, Dr
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Leipzig, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Leipzig, Germany
Introduction:
Accumulating evidence highlights the cerebellum's critical role in social cognition, particularly in Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to infer the mental states of others (Frith & Frith, 2006). Recent findings indicate that functional changes in the posterior cerebellum around the fourth year of life are linked to the emergence of adult-like ToM abilities. However, precursors of ToM are already present much earlier: infants under two years exhibit ToM-related faculties, such as false-belief understanding (Scott & Baillargeon, 2017). Despite evidence linking cerebellar abnormalities in infancy to severe social-cognitive deficits (Olson et al., 2023), the cerebellum's role in early ToM development remains poorly understood. Here, we examined how cerebellar volumetric changes relate to ToM development in young children. We investigated two forms of ToM: (1) "explicit" (verbal), developing around age four, and (2) "implicit" (non-verbal), emerging earlier in life (Grosse Wiesmann et al., 2020). We hypothesized that distinct cerebellar regions would show volumetric increases as a function of children's implicit and explicit ToM abilities.
Methods:
We utilized multiple open-access datasets with T1-weighted MRI and behavioral data from typically developing children (Grosse Wiesmann et al., 2020; Howell et al., 2018; Richardson et al., 2018). Implicit ToM was assessed via an anticipatory looking false-belief task (N1=38; age range: 3–4 years; Grosse Wiesmann et al., 2020) or joint attention during mother-child interactions (N2=39; age range: 3–5 years; Howell et al., 2018). Explicit ToM was measured using a verbal task requiring children to identify others' false beliefs (N1=41; age range: 3–12 years; Richardson et al., 2018; N2=38; age range: 3–4 years; Grosse Wiesmann et al., 2020). The cerebellum was isolated and normalized to the Spatially Unbiased InfraTentorial (SUIT) template (Diedrichsen, 2006), retaining the Jacobian determinant to capture absolute tissue volumes in native space. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed on cerebellar gray matter, with implicit and explicit ToM scores as continuous predictors. To replicate prior functional findings on explicit ToM structurally, VBM analyses were further restricted to 5mm spheres around functional clusters in the right (r) Crus II and bilateral Crus I (Manoli et al., 2024). Additionally, we examined the structural covariance between cerebellar and neocortical ToM regions and its relationship with explicit ToM abilities. Age, sex, and general executive and linguistic abilities were included as covariates in all analyses.
Results:
Explicit ToM scores were associated with volumetric increases in the posterior Crus I/II (Fig. 1A), while implicit ToM scores were linked to non-overlapping increases in lobules VI/VII and the posterior vermis (Fig. 1B). Restricting VBM to a priori explicit ToM regions revealed significant increases only in the right Crus II, partially replicating functional evidence of cerebellar involvement in explicit ToM structurally (Fig. 1C). Structural covariance between explicit ToM regions in the cerebellum and neocortex increased with explicit ToM abilities, most notably between the right Crus II and the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) (Fig. 1D). These findings were consistent across datasets.
Conclusions:
Our findings revealed distinct patterns of posterior cerebellar involvement in explicit and implicit ToM development, with unique volumetric increases corresponding to children's implicit and explicit ToM abilities. These results suggest two separate cerebellar systems for understanding others' thoughts, already present in the first years of life. Beyond advancing our understanding of social cognition development, these findings may have implications for neurodevelopmental disorders with social-cognitive impairments, such as autism spectrum disorder, which differentially affects implicit and explicit ToM performance (Senju et al., 2009).
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Cognition 1
Lifespan Development:
Early life, Adolescence, Aging 2
Keywords:
Cerebellum
Cognition
Cortex
Development
Open Data
Social Interactions
STRUCTURAL MRI
Other - Theory of Mind
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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2. Frith, C. D. (2006). The neural basis of mentalizing. Neuron, 50(4), 531–534
3. Grosse Wiesmann, C. (2020). Two systems for thinking about others’ thoughts in the developing brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6928–6935.
4. Howell, B. R. (2018). The UNC/UMN Baby Connectome Project (BCP): An overview of the study design and protocol development. NeuroImage, 185, 891–905.
5. Manoli, A. (2024). Functional recruitment and connectivity of the cerebellum supports the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood. bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory).
6. Olson, I. R. (2023). Little brain, little minds: The big role of the cerebellum in social development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 60, 101238.
7. Richardson, H. (2018). Development of the social brain from age three to twelve years. Nature Communications, 9(1).
8. Scott, R. M. (2017). Early False-Belief understanding. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(4), 237–249.
9. Senju, A. (2009). Mindblind eyes: an absence of spontaneous theory of mind in Asperger syndrome. Science, 325(5942), 883–885.