Static and Dynamic Aspects of Cerebro-Cerebellar Functional Connectivity are Associated with Self-reported Measures of Impulsivity: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Abstract

Converging evidence from human and animal studies predict a possible role of the cerebellum in impulsivity. However, this hypothesis has not been thoroughly investigated within the framework of functional connectivity (FC). To address this issue, we employed resting-state fMRI data and two self-reports of impulsivity (UPPS-P and BIS/BAS) from a large group of healthy young individuals (N=134). We identified cerebral and cerebellar resting-state networks, and evaluated the association of static (strength) and dynamic (temporal variability) aspects of cerebro-cerebellar FC with different elements of self-reported impulsivity. Our results revealed that the behavioral inhibition and approach systems (BIS/BAS) were inversely associated with basal ganglia-cerebellar and fronto-cerebellar FC strength, respectively. In addition, we found that lack of premeditation was inversely associated with the temporal variability of FC between the cerebellum and top-down control networks that included sub-regions of the prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, we found that sensation seeking was associated with the temporal variability of FC between the cerebellum and networks that included cortical control regions and sub-cortical reward regions: the basal ganglia and the thalamus. Together, these findings indicate that the cerebellum may contribute to different forms of impulsivity through its connections to large-scale control and reward networks.