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Ongoing movement controls sensory integration in the dorsolateral striatum
Roberto de la Torre-Martinez1, Maya Ketzef2, Gilad Silberberg3
1Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. roberto.de.la.torre.martinez@ki.se.
Nature Communications
|February 22, 2023
Summary
Motor activity, like whisking, influences sensory processing in the brain's dorsolateral striatum (DLS). Dopamine and specific neuron types modulate these sensorimotor interactions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory-motor integration
Background:
- The dorsolateral striatum (DLS) integrates sensory and motor information.
- Sensorimotor interactions in the striatum and dopamine's role are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how motor activity (whisking) impacts sensory processing in the DLS.
- To determine the influence of dopamine on these sensorimotor interactions.
Main Methods:
- In vivo whole-cell recordings in awake mice.
- Tactile whisker stimulation and spontaneous whisking behavior were monitored.
Main Results:
- Striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) responded to both whisker stimulation and whisking.
- Whisking attenuated responses to whisker deflection.
- Dopamine depletion altered whisking representation in direct-pathway MSNs and impaired sensory discrimination in both direct and indirect pathway MSNs.
Conclusions:
- Motor activity significantly affects sensory processing in the DLS.
- Dopamine and MSN cell type critically shape sensorimotor representations in the striatum.
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