The dominant neural models of typical and atypical reading focus on the cerebral cortex. However, Nicolson et al. (2001) proposed a model, the cerebellar deficit hypothesis, in which the cerebellum plays an important role in reading. To evaluate the evidence in support of this model, we qualitatively review the current literature and employ meta-analytic tools examining patterns of functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cerebral reading network. We find evidence for a phonological circuit with connectivity between the cerebellum and a dorsal fronto-parietal pathway, and a semantic circuit with cerebellar connectivity to a ventral fronto-temporal pathway. Furthermore, both cerebral pathways have functional connections with the mid-fusiform gyrus, a region implicated in orthographic processing. Consideration of these circuits within the context of the current literature suggests the cerebellum is positioned to influence both phonological and word-based decoding procedures for recognizing unfamiliar printed words. Overall, multiple lines of research provide support for the cerebellar deficit hypothesis, while also highlighting the need for further research to test mechanistic hypotheses.

典型和非典型阅读的主要神经模型集中在大脑皮层。但是，Nicolson等。（2001）提出了一个模型，小脑缺损假说，在小脑在阅读中扮演重要角色。为了评估支持该模型的证据，我们定性地回顾了当前文献，并采用了荟萃分析工具来检查小脑和大脑阅读网络之间的功能连接模式。我们找到了与小脑和额叶顶顶额叶通路之间的连通性的语音回路，以及与小脑额叶-颞叶通路相连的小脑的语义回路的证据。此外，两个大脑通路都与梭形中回（与正字处理有关的区域）具有功能性联系。在当前文献的上下文中对这些电路的考虑表明，小脑被定位成影响语音和基于单词的解码过程，以识别不熟悉的印刷单词。总体而言，多方面的研究为小脑缺陷假说提供了支持，同时也强调了需要进一步研究以检验机械假说的必要性。