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Complementary cortical and thalamic contributions to cell-type-specific striatal activity dynamics during movement.

Enida Gjoni1, Ram Dyuthi Sristi2, Haixin Liu1

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Summary

Researchers explored how brain region inputs influence motor control. They found distinct pathways in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) convey specific movement signals, impacting direct- and indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs and iMSNs).

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control Research
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Coordinated motor behavior relies on information flow between brain regions.
  • The specific mechanisms by which long-range inputs modulate cell-type-specific activity in motor circuits are not fully understood.
  • The dorsolateral striatum (DLS) comprises direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs) and indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs), known to have distinct roles in movement regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how cortical and thalamic inputs drive cell-type-specific activity within the DLS during skilled locomotion.
  • To identify functional subpopulations within dMSNs, iMSNs, and their projecting inputs.
  • To elucidate the complementary roles of corticostriatal and thalamostriatal pathways in motor control.

Main Methods:

  • Monosynaptic rabies tracing to identify inputs to dMSNs and iMSNs.
  • In vivo electrophysiological recordings in mice performing skilled locomotion.
  • Recurrent neural network (RNN) classification and clustering analysis to identify neuronal subpopulations and activity patterns.
  • Inactivation of cortical or thalamic regions to assess their impact on MSN activity.

Main Results:

  • Functional heterogeneity was observed in dMSNs, iMSNs, and their inputs, with dMSNs activated at movement onset/offset and iMSNs during execution.
  • Cortical inputs were preferentially active during movement onset/offset, while thalamic inputs were active during execution.
  • Locomotion phase-specific rhythmic activity was detected in a subset of thalamic dMSN-projecting neurons and dMSNs.
  • Inactivation of the cortex or thalamus led to reduced MSN activity.

Conclusions:

  • Corticostriatal and thalamostriatal inputs provide distinct, complementary motor signals to the DLS.
  • These signals are conveyed through pathways that are both shared and cell-type-specific, targeting dMSNs and iMSNs.
  • Understanding these pathways is crucial for deciphering the neural basis of coordinated motor behavior.