Spinal muscular atrophy affects all the body’s muscles. For a long time, it was considered a disease caused solely by the loss of nerve cells in the spinal cord. Now, a research team at Leipzig University’s Carl Ludwig Institute of Physiology has been able to show that the cerebellum – which is important for motor coordination but also influences social and cognitive processes – also plays a role in the development of spinal muscular atrophy. The study has been published in the journal Brain.