We study the development of cerebellar function in health and disease. Abnormal cerebellar development is associated with pediatric movement disorders, like ataxia and dystonia, and neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism spectrum disorder. We seek to understand how the healthy cerebellum contributes to the postnatal development of behaviors so that we can predict, prevent, and reverse neurodevelopmental disabilities caused by abnormal cerebellar development.
The cerebellum is one of the slowest brain regions to develop – many of its neurons are born after birth. As a result, cerebellum-dependent behaviors do not mature until later in life. These functions include motor control and neural functions less known to involve the cerebellum, like social and emotional processing, language, and cognition. Because the healthy cerebellum is important for many behaviors, developmental perturbations to the cerebellum can cause impairments in different behavioral domains.
We want to know: what cell types contribute to the development of different cerebellum-dependent behaviors? And what is wrong with the way these cells communicate with each other in disease states? By answering these questions, we aim to develop precise treatments without impairing other domains of cerebellar function.
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute | School of Neuroscience | Virginia Tech
Van Der Heijden Lab 