Kang, Seulgi Jun, Soyoung Baek, Soo Ji Park, Heeyoun Yamamoto, Yukio Tanaka-Yamamoto, Keiko 2024-01-19T13:03:39Z 2024-01-19T13:03:39Z 2022-02-17 2021-12 1662-5129 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/115966 The cerebellum has a long history in terms of research on its network structures and motor functions, yet our understanding of them has further advanced in recent years owing to technical developments, such as viral tracers, optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulation, and single cell gene expression analyses. Specifically, it is now widely accepted that the cerebellum is also involved in non-motor functions, such as cognitive and psychological functions, mainly from studies that have clarified neuronal pathways from the cerebellum to other brain regions that are relevant to these functions. The techniques to manipulate specific neuronal pathways were effectively utilized to demonstrate the involvement of the cerebellum and its pathways in specific brain functions, without altering motor activity. In particular, the cerebellar efferent pathways that have recently gained attention are not only monosynaptic connections to other brain regions, including the periaqueductal gray and ventral tegmental area, but also polysynaptic connections to other brain regions, including the non-primary motor cortex and hippocampus. Besides these efferent pathways associated with non-motor functions, recent studies using sophisticated experimental techniques further characterized the historically studied efferent pathways that are primarily associated with motor functions. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there are no articles that comprehensively describe various cerebellar efferent pathways, although there are many interesting review articles focusing on specific functions or pathways. Here, we summarize the recent findings on neuronal networks projecting from the cerebellum to several brain regions. We also introduce various techniques that have enabled us to advance our understanding of the cerebellar efferent pathways, and further discuss possible directions for future research regarding these efferent pathways and their functions. English Frontiers Media S.A. Recent Advances in the Understanding of Specific Efferent Pathways Emerging From the Cerebellum Article 10.3389/fnana.2021.759948 1 Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, v.15 Frontiers in Neuroanatomy 15 Y scie scopus 000738453100001 2-s2.0-85122032207 Anatomy & Morphology Neurosciences Anatomy & Morphology Neurosciences & Neurology Review MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX BASAL GANGLIA BRAIN-STEM PERIAQUEDUCTAL GRAY SUPERIOR COLLICULUS AMYGDALA CONNECTIVITY PARABRACHIAL NUCLEUS RETICULAR-FORMATION PROJECTION NEURONS DOPAMINE RELEASE cerebellum viral tracers optogenetics chemogenetics higher cognitive functions neuronal networks deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN)