Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Single Synapse Indicators of Glutamate Release and Uptake in Acute Brain Slices from Normal and Huntington Mice
Published on: March 11, 2020
The dual role of striatal interneurons: circuit modulation and trophic support for the basal ganglia
Elliot Wegman1, Marlena Wosiski-Kuhn2, Yu Luo1,3
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Abstract:
Striatal interneurons play a key role in modulating striatal-dependent behaviors, including motor activity and reward and emotional processing. Interneurons not only provide modulation to the basal ganglia circuitry under homeostasis but are also involved in changes to plasticity and adaptation during disease conditions such as Parkinson's or Huntington's disease. This review aims to summarize recent findings regarding the role of striatal cholinergic and GABAergic interneurons in providing circuit modulation to the basal ganglia in both homeostatic and disease conditions. In addition to direct circuit modulation, striatal interneurons have also been shown to provide trophic support to maintain neuron populations in adulthood. We discuss this interesting and novel role of striatal interneurons, with a focus on the maintenance of adult dopaminergic neurons from interneuron-derived sonic-hedgehog.
Related Concept Videos
Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay
Neural Circuits
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
Indirect Motor Pathways
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
Functional Brain Systems: Reticular Formation
Within the reticular formation, there are several distinct nuclei that can be classified into three broad categories. The Raphe nuclei are located along the midline of the brainstem. They are primarily known for their role in synthesizing and releasing serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood, appetite, sleep, and circadian rhythms. The...
Glial Cells
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....

