Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Whole-mount Imaging of Mouse Embryo Sensory Axon Projections
Published on: December 9, 2014
Topographic precision in sensory and motor corticostriatal projections varies across cell type and cortical area
Bryan M Hooks1, Andrew E Papale2, Ronald F Paletzki3
1Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. hooksm@pitt.edu.
Abstract:
The striatum shows general topographic organization and regional differences in behavioral functions. How corticostriatal topography differs across cortical areas and cell types to support these distinct functions is unclear. This study contrasted corticostriatal projections from two layer 5 cell types, intratelencephalic (IT-type) and pyramidal tract (PT-type) neurons, using viral vectors expressing fluorescent reporters in Cre-driver mice. Corticostriatal projections from sensory and motor cortex are somatotopic, with a decreasing topographic specificity as injection sites move from sensory to motor and frontal areas. Topographic organization differs between IT-type and PT-type neurons, including injections in the same site, with IT-type neurons having higher topographic stereotypy than PT-type neurons. Furthermore, IT-type projections from interconnected cortical areas have stronger correlations in corticostriatal targeting than PT-type projections do. As predicted by a longstanding model, corticostriatal projections of interconnected cortical areas form parallel circuits in the basal ganglia.
Related Concept Videos
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
What is a Sensory System?
Fischer Projections
Topographic Surveying and Contours
Plotting of Topographic Maps
Gradually Varying Flow

