Correlation between cerebellar lesion topography and differential diagnosis with clinical presentation in dogs.

BACKGROUND Cerebellar diseases in dogs cause diverse neurologic signs depending on the affected region. Although functional topographic maps linking cerebellar areas to motor, behavioral, and vestibular functions have been established in humans, such mapping is poorly characterized in veterinary medicine. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES Evaluate how specific clinical signs in dogs correspond to cerebellar lesion locations and contribute to differential diagnoses. ANIMALS One hundred two client-owned dogs from 4 referral centers in Spain and the United Kingdom. METHODS Multicenter retrospective study including dogs diagnosed with cerebellar disease that underwent neurologic examination and magnetic resonance imaging of the head. RESULTS Rostral cerebellar lobe lesions were significantly associated with motor abnormalities: the rostral culmen with cerebellar ataxia (OR, 5.76) and the lobulus centralis with decerebellate rigidity (OR, 5.68). Caudal lobe involvement (folium and tuber vermis) was linked to abnormal behavior (OR, 4.12). Deep white matter lesions involving the interpositus nucleus were associated with head tilt (OR, 6.48), nystagmus (OR, 3.76), vestibular ataxia (OR, 4.01), and delayed postural reactions (OR, 4.83).Vascular disease was significantly associated with brachycephalic breeds (P = .02), comorbidities (P < .001), non-ambulation (P = .01), and paresis (P = .01). Neoplasia was significantly linked to incoordination (P = .02), head tilt (P < .01), and abnormal behavior (P < .001). Inflammatory or infectious diseases commonly presented with pain (P = .02) and tremors (P < .001). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Our findings suggest 3 region-related cerebellar syndromes in dogs, motor (rostral lobe), behavioral (caudal lobe), and vestibular (deep white matter), which parallel cerebellar syndromes described in humans. Additionally, the specific clinical presentation may indicate a particular differential diagnosis.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

• Publication date

  2026-01-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1093/jvimsj/aalaf077PMID 41742569PMCID PMC12887299
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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