Mapping hippocampal-cerebellar functional connectivity across the human adult lifespan

Apasamy, Kavishini, Berry, Samuel C., Read, Marie-Lucie, Ramnani, Narender and Hodgetts, Carl J. 2025. Mapping hippocampal-cerebellar functional connectivity across the human adult lifespan. Communications Biology 8 , 1619. 10.1038/s42003-025-08972-2

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Abstract

The hippocampus and cerebellum are traditionally considered to support distinct memory systems, yet evidence from nonhuman species indicates a close relationship during spatial-mnemonic behaviour, with hippocampal projections to and from several cerebellar regions. However, little is known about this relationship in humans. To address this, we applied seed-based functional connectivity analysis to resting-state fMRI data from 479 cognitively normal participants aged 18–88 years. We identified significant functional correlations between the hippocampus and widespread areas of cerebellar cortex, particularly lobules HIV, HV, HVI, HVIIA (Crus I and II), HIX, and HX. Moreover, anterior hippocampus showed stronger connectivity with right Crus II, whereas posterior hippocampus was strongly connected to vermal lobule V. Finally, we observed age-related reductions in functional connectivity between the hippocampus and lobules HVI and HV. These findings provide insight into the topography of hippocampal-cerebellar functional organisation in humans and the influence of ageing on this system.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Psychology Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2399-3642
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 December 2025
Date of Acceptance:	29 September 2025
Last Modified:	03 Dec 2025 09:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182815

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