Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sandeep Sathyanandan Nair, Vignayanandam Ravindernath Muddapu, C. Vigneswaran, Pragathi P. Balasubramani, Dhakshin S. Ramanathan, Jyoti Mishra, V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy
Summary: Human cognition encompasses various abilities such as selective attention, decision making, and working memory. In cognitive impairment research, it is crucial to study multiple cognitive functions simultaneously. Thus, we propose a unified, reinforcement learning-based agent model to simulate these cognitive tasks and map individual performance to model meta-parameters. This model has the potential to serve as a proxy for cognitively impaired conditions and as a clinical testbench for therapeutic interventions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Natalia Lopez-Gonzalez del Rey, Miguel Angel Garcia-Cabezas
Summary: This review article summarizes the developmental, cellular, structural, and connectional features of the primate striatum and relates them to patterns of neurodegeneration in humans and non-human primate models. By understanding the primate anatomy and its relation to human pathology, new insights into the molecular, cellular, and connectional factors underlying the degeneration of striatal neurons and circuits can be gained. The article provides an overview of the types of neurons, cyto-, myelo-, and chemoarchitecture, developmental origin, organization of corticostriatal projections, and the topography and time-course of neurodegenerative diseases in both humans and non-human primates.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Violeta G. Lopez-Huerta, Jai A. Denton, Yoko Nakano, Omar Jaidar, Marianela Garcia-Munoz, Gordon W. Arbuthnott
Summary: The research shows that D1 and D2 neurons have different roles in controlling motor behavior, with D1 neurons having a greater impact on overall kinematics results and D2 neurons being more involved in controlling target accuracy. Practice of movements changes synaptic patterns between neurons.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. A. Nadel, S. S. Pawelko, J. R. Scott, R. McLaughlin, M. Fox, M. Ghanem, R. van der Merwe, N. G. Hollon, E. S. Ramsson, C. D. Howard
Summary: This study found that activating striatal patches during reward retrieval can increase mice's response level during habitual training, but does not increase extinction rates. Instead, it may lead to a small "extinction burst" after extinction, which may be related to goal-directed behavior. Additionally, activating patches can modify habitual behavior by suppressing dopamine release.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Andrea Mancini, Veronica Ghiglieri, Lucilla Parnetti, Paolo Calabresi, Massimiliano Di Filippo
Summary: The basal ganglia network, traditionally known for its role in motor learning and movement execution, is now recognized as a key regulator of cognitive and emotional processes. The striatum acts as an input station in the circuit, influencing the functional output of the whole system through synaptic plasticity. The immune system's regulation of synaptic activity in the striatum may play a role in inflammatory and degenerative CNS diseases.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Faezeh Tashakori-Sabzevar, Nico Vautrelle, Yiwen Zheng, Paul F. Smith
Summary: This study investigates the effects of electrical stimulation of the peripheral vestibular system on electrophysiological responses in the tail of the rat striatum. Clear triphasic local field potentials (LFPs) were evoked in the bilateral tail of the striatum, with the LFP amplitude increasing with increasing current amplitude. The results suggest a connection between the vestibular system and the tail of the striatum, possibly through the vestibular nucleus or cerebellum and the parafasicular nucleus of the thalamus.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Krishnakanth Kondabolu, Natalie M. Doig, Olaoluwa Ayeko, Bakhtawer Khan, Alexandra Torres, Daniela Calvigioni, Konstantinos Meletis, Tibor Koos, Peter J. Magil
Summary: The striatum and subthalamic nucleus (STN) are important nuclei in the basal ganglia. They have extensive interactions and there is evidence of direct connections from STN to striatum. To understand these connections better, the researchers performed tracing experiments and found that the connectivity from STN to parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the striatum is significantly higher compared to other cell types. Electrophysiology experiments showed that these interneurons exhibited robust excitatory responses to subthalamostriatal inputs. Overall, the data suggest that glutamatergic STN neurons directly influence striatal activity dynamics through their innervation of GABAergic parvalbumin-expressing interneurons.
Article
Biology
Eun Ju Shin, Yunsil Jang, Soyoun Kim, Hoseok Kim, Xinying Cai, Hyunjung Lee, Jung Hoon Sul, Sung-Hyun Lee, Yeonseung Chung, Daeyeol Lee, Min Whan Jung
Summary: Studies in rats, monkeys, and humans have found action-value signals encoded in various brain regions, which bias choices towards higher expected rewards. Statistical tests on neural activity in the striatum, frontal cortex, and hippocampus show that previously identified action-value signals cannot be solely explained by serial correlations or activity related to other decision variables. Additionally, it was found that neural activity related to action value is intertwined with signals related to other decision variables.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roxana E. Mesias, Yosif Zaki, Christopher A. Guevara, Lauren G. Friedman, Ayan Hussein, Karen Therrien, Alexandra R. Magee, Nikolaos Tzavaras, Pamela Del Valle, Mark G. Baxter, George W. Huntley, Deanna L. Benson
Summary: This study investigates the formation of connections between the prefrontal cortex and the dorsal striatum during postnatal development in mice. It shows that a specific protein, Cdh8, plays a crucial role in the development of these connections.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Benoit Forget, Elena Martin Garcia, Arthur Godino, Laura Domingo Rodriguez, Vincent Kappes, Pierre Poirier, Andry Andrianarivelo, Eric Senabre Marchan, Marie-Charlotte Allichon, Melanie Marias, Peter Vanhoutte, Jean-Antoine Girault, Rafael Maldonado, Jocelyne Caboche
Summary: The study shows that certain miRNAs are preferentially upregulated in the NAc after sustained cocaine exposure and miR-1 overexpression in specific striatal cell populations can affect cocaine-induced behaviors by reducing reinstatement and motivation in a cell-type specific manner.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicolas A. Morgenstern, Ana Filipa Isidro, Inbal Israely, Rui M. Costa
Summary: This study reveals a previously unknown excitatory circuit in the brain, which conveys a delayed second phase of excitation to the striatum through a polysynaptic pathway involving PT neurons, cholinergic interneurons, and glutamate-releasing axons. This circuit mechanism may have important implications for behavior, plasticity, and learning.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Hsiao-Ying Kuo, Shih-Yun Chen, Rui-Chi Huang, Hiroshi Takahashi, Yen-Hui Lee, Hao-Yu Pang, Cheng-Hsi Wu, Ann M. Graybiel, Fu-Chin Liu
Summary: Kuo et al. have identified a mechanism by which the KE family mutation in FOXP2 can lead to childhood apraxia of speech. Using a mouse model, they found that the mutation disrupts the formation of vocalization circuits by inhibiting intracellular trafficking. This discovery sheds light on the genetic control of vocal communication in humans and could contribute to understanding speech disorders associated with FOXP2 mutations.
Article
Neurosciences
Shigeru Ogata, Yuta Miyamoto, Naoki Shigematsu, Shigeyuki Esumi, Takaichi Fukuda
Summary: The study demonstrates the presence of a novel type of GABAergic neurons in the most caudal part of the striatum in male mice. These neurons have large somata and extend long dendrites towards adjoining regions, receiving inputs from MSNs in close proximity and facilitating prompt disinhibition in response to auditory stimuli.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Bruno Averbeck, John P. O'Doherty
Summary: This article reviews the current state of knowledge on the computational and neural mechanisms of reinforcement learning, with a focus on fronto-striatal circuits. Five broad research themes are identified, including learning targets, algorithms driving learning and inference, value conversion into choices and actions, state representations, and brain control over reinforcement learning subsystems. The authors argue that bridging algorithmic level descriptions to implementation level models is essential to better understand how reinforcement learning emerges from multiple distributed neural networks in the brain.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Greg L. West, Kyoko Konishi, Kathleen MacDonald, Anjie Ni, Ridha Joober, Veronique D. Bohbot
Summary: The study found that in older adults, individuals carrying the BDNF met gene and those carrying the BDNF val gene exhibit differences in learning strategies and brain activity, with BDNF val individuals more likely to use spatial learning strategies and met carriers more likely to use response learning strategies.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
