Linking the cerebellar morphology with cytoarchitecture using motion-corrected, RF-shimmed, 7T MRI

Motivation: The human cerebellum is relevant across cognitive domains. However, in-vivo cerebellar MRI measures are lacking, due to resolution/analysis constraints. Consequently, the cerebellar morphology and its links to cytoarchitecture are unexplored, thus limiting neuroscientific research. Goal(s): To develop in-vivo cerebellar cortical measures and probe their biological relevance. Approach: We combined motion-corrected, RF-shimmed, 7T-MRI with a novel segmentation pipeline. We extracted regional cytoarchitectonic features from 3D-reconstructed histological and immunohistochemical data. Results: Regional differences in cerebellar cortical thickness correlated with granular layer cell density, while vascular measures also correlated with cortical thickness and cytoarchitecture. Impact: The detailed human cerebellar morphology is unexplored. Here, we combine motion-corrected, RF-shimmed 7T-MRI with a novel segmentation approach to demonstrate links between in-vivo/post-mortem cerebellar morphology, vasculature and cytoarchitecture. This may provide insights into the pathology of several neurological disorders.