Frequency-dependent cerebellar circuits independently gate social vocalizations and movement

Abstract

Communication depends on precise coordination between motor execution and cognition. Here we reveal that the cerebellum exerts real-time control over social vocalizations in adult mice. Optogenetic activation of excitatory cerebellar output in the superior cerebellar peduncle suppressed ultrasonic vocalizations with frequency-dependent potency while inducing distinct motor phenotypes. Systematic, functional mapping across cerebellar regions and cell types revealed that vocal suppression can occur in the absence of overt motor impairment, suggesting selective control of vocal output beyond gross movement disruption. We identified the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a conserved midbrain vocal control center, as a key downstream mediator of this effect. Deep brain stimulation of the PAG rescued vocal deficits in a model of cerebellar dysfunction without rescuing motor incoordination. These findings define a cerebellar-midbrain pathway that gates vocal behavior and demonstrate that targeted therapeutic neuromodulation can selectively restore communication-related output even in the presence of persistent cerebellar-driven motor deficits.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. iScience, 2026 · DOI ↗