The cerebellum has been the focus of much debate over the past five decades, and it has been implicated in a wide range of cognitive functions extending beyond sensorimotor control. Much of the empirical research on the function of the cerebellum has been centered on the ‘little brain’ in its mature, adult form. However, we are now starting to appreciate that the developing cerebellum offers a unique window into understanding how and what this structure contributes to cognition. Here, we document the vulnerability of the developing cerebellum, and present recent work on the co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism spectrum disorder) and atypical cerebellar development. Building on these observations, we discuss the differences in cerebellar architecture through the lens of injury, and consider how cerebellar function is interpreted from infancy to adulthood.

在过去的五年里，小脑一直是争论的焦点，它与感觉运动控制之外的广泛认知功能有关。许多关于小脑功能的实证研究都集中在成熟的“小脑”上。然而，我们现在开始认识到，正在发育的小脑提供了一个独特的窗口来了解如何以及什么这种结构有助于认知。在这里，我们记录了发育中小脑的脆弱性，并介绍了关于神经发育障碍（例如自闭症谱系障碍）和非典型小脑发育同时发生的最新研究。基于这些观察，我们通过损伤的角度讨论小脑结构的差异，并考虑如何解释从婴儿期到成年期的小脑功能。