The Cerebellum in Emotion Regulation: A Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study

Several lines of evidence suggest that the cerebellum may play a role in the regulation of emotion. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that inhibition of cerebellar function using slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) would lead to increased negative mood as a result of impaired emotion regulation. In a randomized counterbalanced within-subjects design, 12 healthy young right-handed volunteers received 20 min of cerebellar, occipital, or sham 1 Hz rTMS on three separate days. Mood state inventories were acquired prior to and immediately after rTMS and after an emotion regulation task (ERT). In the ERT, participants were instructed to either look at aversive and neutral scenes, or to suppress the negative feelings experienced while watching aversive scenes during which the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Results showing no changes in baseline-corrected mood were observed immediately after rTMS. However, significant increases in baseline-corrected negative mood following the ERT were reported after cerebellar rTMS exclusively. No effects on the EEG during the ERT were observed. These findings provide support for the view that the cerebellum is implicated in the regulation of emotion and mood, and concur with evidence of cerebellar abnormalities observed in disorders associated with emotion dysregulation. In order to clarify the underlying biological mechanisms involved, more research is needed.

Dennis J. L. G. SchutterEmail: