Dorsomedial striatal neurons encode visual features

To move through the world, animals extract visual features from objects. Although the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) contains visual processing circuits, visual perception is considered a cortical attribute. Here, we asked whether neurons from the DMS encode visual features in the absence of behavioral contingencies contributing to visual perception. Using electrophysiological recordings of spiny projection neurons (SPNs) located in a target region of the primary visual cortex, we identified visually responsive neurons. A low percentage of SPNs were orientation selective. However, different orientations of drifting-gratings were predicted by populations of non-orientation-selective neurons. Striatal visual responses were more transient and less accurate than cortical responses, indicating distinctive visual processing by striatal circuits. SPNs from the direct and indirect pathways participated in visual processing. Pathway-specific silencing of SPNs revealed that intra-striatal connectivity shapes visual processing, defining striatal visual modules. These findings indicate visual processing by the DMS, expanding current models of visual perception and basal ganglia functions.