title: The acquisition of goal-directed actions generates opposing plasticity in direct and indirect pathways in dorsomedial striatum.
abstract: A cortical-basal ganglia network involving, particularly, the posterior region of dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has been implicated in the acquisition of goal-directed actions; however, no direct evidence of learning-related plasticity in this striatal region has been reported, nor is it known whether, or which, specific cell types are involved in this learning process. The striatum is primarily composed of two classes of spiny projection neurons (SPNs): the striatonigral and striatopallidal SPNs, which express dopamine D1 and D2 receptors, respectively. Here we establish that, in mice, the acquisition of goal-directed actions induced plasticity in both D1- and D2-SPNs specifically in the DMS and, importantly, that these changes were in opposing directions; after learning, AMPA/NMDA ratios were increased in D1-SPNs and reduced in the D2-SPNs in the DMS. Such opposing plasticity could provide the basis for rapidly rebiasing the control of task-specific actions, and its dysregulation could underlie disorders associated with striatal function.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia, and.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia, and.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Pharmacology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: MacDonald J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia, and bernard.balleine@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Bernard W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Balleine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D006040:Goals; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
keywords: dorsal striatum; electrophysiology; goal-directed action; plasticity