27.10.2026 Sabrina Turker
The contribution of the cerebellum to language processing, reading and dyslexia
The cerebellum has historically been underrepresented in language and reading research, despite its prominent role in skill automatization and the neural underpinnings of dyslexia. Converging evidence from lesion and neuroimaging studies supports the cerebellum’s crucial involvement in phonological and semantic aspects of language processing, and word reading, highlighting the relevance of cerebro-cerebellar circuits for language-related functions. Moreover, a recent neuroimaging study suggests a disruption of functional connectivity between cortical language regions and the right cerebellum as a neural marker in adult dyslexia.
Studies at the core of the presentation:
1. Turker, S., & Hartwigsen, G. (2026). Probing the linguistic cerebellum: a qualitative review of the effects of cerebellar neurostimulation on language processing. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, 1850241.
2. Turker, S.+, Gerardos, G.+, Büch, F.+, Fumagalli, B., Kuhnke, P. & Hartwigsen, G. (2026). Task load modulates network interactions between bilateral fronto-parietal and cerebellar areas during verbal working memory. iScience 115502.
3. Turker, S., Fumagalli, B., Kuhnke, P. & Hartwigsen, G. (2025). The ‘reading’ brain: Meta-analytic insight into functional activation during reading in adults. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 173, 106166.
4. Turker, S.+, Kuhnke, P.+, Cheung, V., Weise, K., & Hartwigsen, G. (2025). Neurostimulation improves reading and alters communication within reading networks in dyslexia. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1, 1544.
5. Turker, S.+, Kuhnke, P.+, Jiang, Z., & Hartwigsen, G. (2023). Disrupted network interactions serve as a neural marker of dyslexia. Nature Communications Biology 6, 1114.
Other highly relevant literature: 1. Wang, B., LeBel, A., & D’Mello, A. M. (2025). Ignoring the cerebellum is hindering progress in neuroscience. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(4), 318-330. 2. Casto, C., Poliak, M., Tuckute, G., Small, H., Sherlock, P., Wolna, A., ... & Fedorenko, E. (2026). The cerebellar components of the human language network. Neuron, 114(8), 1504-1523.