Dystonia and the Cerebellum

*Please note that the deadline is flexible. If you are interested in contributing but cannot meet the specified deadline, please contact the Editorial Office at dystonia.office@frontierspartnerships.org.


The cerebellum's significance in movement is well established, backed by mechanistic insights into how it controls motor coordination, posture, balance, and skilled movement. Subsequently, there has been a notable rise in studies across cellular, molecular, and systems levels unveiling cerebellar involvement in dystonia. Despite a wide spectrum of etiologies and phenotypes in dystonia, the cerebellum consistently emerges as a prominent site of brain pathology with alterations in its activity, connectivity, and possibly even in its structure.

The expanding list of motor and non-motor functions involving the cerebellum far outpaces the development of strategies to manage its dysfunction. This raises a challenging next step in leveraging our understanding of both the healthy and diseased cerebellum to radically improve treatment in dystonia. This special issue presents an opportunity to draw from historical studies, gather valuable insights from diverse cerebellar models, and stimulate endeavors aimed at leveraging our knowledge of both the healthy and diseased cerebellum to revolutionize dystonia treatment.

We welcome contributions covering historical, fundamental, clinical, and translational aspects of cerebellar involvement in dystonia. We especially welcome contributions that pave the way for new research directions and address longstanding questions. Submissions involving clinical or experimental human research that is based on hypothesis-driven questions, animal models, computational or theoretical neuroscience, and in vitro methodologies are also welcomed. Case reports will be considered if they enhance our overall understanding of cerebellar involvement in the pathophysiology or treatment of dystonia. Method papers that focus on innovative approaches, contributing substantial conceptual insights to experimental techniques, are also encouraged.

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Commentary
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Commentary
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Review

Keywords: Dystonia, Cerebellum, Networks, Circuits, Pathophysiology, Neuromodulation, Neurotherapeutics