Boldly Hypothesize,
Carefully Prove.
The questions addressed in the Snell lab are grounded in scientific discovery and basic science, but influenced by interactions and conversations with patients, their families, and their physicians. Our goal to use cutting edge techniques to study mechanisms underlying these rare disorders to pioneer discoveries that contribute to the understanding of the basic cerebellar function, and contribute to increasing qualify of life of patients worldwide.
The cerebellum is responsible for the coordination of motor movements, although recent evidence suggests that the cerebellum also contributes to non-motor tasks such as reward processing and social interaction. Defects in cerebellar function lead to cognitive disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Cerebellar function & Purkinje cells
The cerebellum is responsible for coordination of motor movements, although recent evidence suggests that the cerebellum also contributes to
non-motor tasks such as reward processing and social interaction, and that defects in cerebellar function lead to cognitive disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
However, the underlying mechanism and contribution of the cerebellar circuitry to such tasks and disorders remains poorly understood. Cerebellar function relies on the regular pace-making firing of Purkinje cells, the main output neuron of the cerebellar cortex.
