Transient striatal gamma local field potentials signal movement initiation in rats

Transient coherent neural oscillations, as indicated by local field potentials, are thought to underlie key perceptual and cognitive events. We report a transient, state-dependent 50 Hz oscillation recorded from electrodes placed in the striatum of awake, behaving rats. These coherent oscillations, which we term gamma(50), occurred in brief (150 ms) events co-incident with the initiation of movement. On navigation tasks, the animal's speed increased dramatically at the precise moment of the gamma(50) event. This synchronous oscillation may provide a key to understanding striatal function, as well as basal ganglia pathology, which often impairs the control of voluntary movements.