The Sleeping Cerebellum

We sleep almost one-third of our lives and sleep plays an important role in critical brain functions like memory formation and consolidation. The role of sleep in cerebellar processing, however, constitutes an enigma in the field of neuroscience; we know little about cerebellar sleep-physiology, cerebro-cerebellar interactions during sleep, or the contributions of sleep to cerebellum-dependent memory consolidation. Likewise, we do not understand why cerebellar malfunction can lead to changes in the sleep-wake cycle and sleep disorders. In this review, we evaluate how sleep and cerebellar processing may influence one another and highlight which scientific routes and technical approaches could be taken to uncover the mechanisms underlying these interactions. Sleep supports cognitive processes and sleep disturbances are associated with neuropsychiatric syndromes as well as memory impairments.To what extent the cerebellum sleeps and to what extent sleep is critical for the cerebellum-dependent memory formation and consolidation remain to be elucidated.The cerebellum shows sleep stage-dependent activity and its malfunctions can lead to changes in the sleep-wake cycle, leading to sleep disorders.The cerebral cortex and cerebellum strongly interact during both the awake state and sleep, and such interactions during sleep also contribute to consolidation of memories.Given the sleep stage-dependent character of cerebellar activity and of the neocortical-cerebellar interactions, the role of this activity and these interactions for memory consolidation might strongly depend on the precise sleep stage and sleep architecture.

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