Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

5.2K
The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and...
5.2K
Propagation of Action Potentials01:23

Propagation of Action Potentials

14.0K
The propagation of an action potential refers to the process by which a nerve impulse, or "action potential," travels along a neuron.
Neurons (nerve cells) have a resting membrane potential, with a slightly negative charge inside compared to outside. This is maintained by ion channels, such as sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) channels, which control the flow of ions. When a stimulus, like a touch or a signal from another neuron, triggers the neuron, sodium channels open, allowing sodium ions to...
14.0K
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

3.8K
The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
3.8K
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

7.9K
Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
7.9K
MAPK Signaling Cascades01:07

MAPK Signaling Cascades

9.2K
Mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAPK pathway, activates three sequential kinases to regulate cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. The canonical MAPK pathway starts with a mitogen or growth factor binding to an RTK. The activated RTKs stimulate Ras, which recruits Raf or MAP3 Kinase (MAPKKK), the first kinase of the MAPK signaling cascade. Raf further phosphorylates and activates MEK or MAP2 Kinases (MAPKK), which in turn phosphorylates MAP...
9.2K
Secondary Messengers in Hormone Action01:26

Secondary Messengers in Hormone Action

6.2K
Water-soluble hormones cannot cross the plasma membrane, so they rely on protein receptors that span the membrane to trigger intracellular signaling pathways. These pathways then activate second messengers inside the cell, including cAMP or calcium ions.
Many hormones bind to transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors that connect to regulatory G proteins. These G proteins can then activate enzymes such as adenylyl cyclase or phospholipase C. Adenylyl cyclase converts ATP to cAMP, activating...
6.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Need-selective gating of dopamine neuron cue responses by real and virtual hunger.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Preclinical efficacy of the muscarinic agonist ML-007 in psychosis models depends on both M<sub>1</sub> and M<sub>4</sub> receptors.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2025
Same author

Intercalated Amygdala Dysfunction Drives Avoidance Extinction Deficits in the Sapap3 Mouse Model of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Biological psychiatry·2024
Same author

Dopamine subsystems that track internal states.

Nature·2022
Same author

Striatal Indirect Pathway Dysfunction Underlies Motor Deficits in a Mouse Model of Paroxysmal Dyskinesia.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2022
Same author

Frontostriatal Projections Regulate Innate Avoidance Behavior.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2021
Same journal

Fast-conducting mechanonociceptors uniquely engage reflexive and affective pain circuitry to drive protective responses.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Sparse component analysis: A method that uncovers separable computations within neural population activity.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Spatiomolecular mapping reveals anatomical organization of heterogeneous cell types in the human nucleus accumbens.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

TGF-β1-induced endothelial transcytosis drives blood-brain barrier leakage during aging.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Image space opens up for visual neuroscience.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Septal GLP-1 receptors control alcohol taking and seeking.

Neuron·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
08:47

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation

Published on: March 5, 2018

9.5K

A Direct Path to Action Initiation.

Christopher H Donahue1, Anatol C Kreitzer2

  • 1The Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.

Neuron
|October 24, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers found distinct information processing in the direct and indirect pathways of the striatum. This supports the idea that the direct pathway is crucial for initiating actions.

Keywords:
actionbasal gangliadirect pathwayindirect pathway

More Related Videos

An Integrated System to Remotely Trigger Intracellular Signal Transduction by Upconversion Nanoparticle-mediated Kinase Photoactivation
11:20

An Integrated System to Remotely Trigger Intracellular Signal Transduction by Upconversion Nanoparticle-mediated Kinase Photoactivation

Published on: August 30, 2017

7.9K
Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
08:47

Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation

Published on: March 5, 2018

9.5K
An Integrated System to Remotely Trigger Intracellular Signal Transduction by Upconversion Nanoparticle-mediated Kinase Photoactivation
11:20

An Integrated System to Remotely Trigger Intracellular Signal Transduction by Upconversion Nanoparticle-mediated Kinase Photoactivation

Published on: August 30, 2017

7.9K
Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.9K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Basal Ganglia Function
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • The striatum, a key component of the basal ganglia, is divided into direct and indirect pathways.
  • These pathways are traditionally associated with facilitating and inhibiting movements, respectively.
  • Understanding their distinct roles in information processing is crucial for deciphering motor control mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide definitive evidence for differential information encoding in the direct and indirect striatal pathways.
  • To investigate the specific role of the direct pathway in action initiation.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings in the striatum.
  • Behavioral analysis of action initiation tasks.
  • Optogenetic or chemogenetic manipulation of pathway activity (details not provided in abstract).

Main Results:

  • Clear evidence of differential information encoding between the direct and indirect pathways.
  • Demonstration that the direct pathway is critical for initiating actions.
  • Specific neural activity patterns correlated with action initiation were identified.

Conclusions:

  • The direct and indirect pathways of the striatum process information distinctly.
  • The direct pathway plays a fundamental role in the initiation of voluntary actions.
  • These findings reinforce and refine classical models of basal ganglia function in motor control.