CORTICOSTRIATAL INFLUENCES ON NEOSTRIATAL PROCESSING

新纹状体和其他基底神经节核在包括帕金森病、亨廷顿舞蹈病、图雷特综合征和精神分裂症在内的几种神经系统疾病的病因学中起作用。 为了了解新纹状体如何处理来自大脑皮层的信息，我们将研究皮质纹状体连接的拓扑结构及其与新纹状体活动协调的关系。具体目标1。 确定处理功能相关信息的躯体感觉区皮质纹状体投射的精确地形组织。 我们假设，在行为过程中被联合激活或以紧密的时间顺序激活的皮层区域比在躯体感觉引导的行为过程中不被共激活的皮层区域更有可能投射到重叠的新纹状体区域。 为了验证这一假设，我们将重建顺行标记的皮质纹状体终端起源于初级（SI）和次级（SII）躯体感觉皮层的不同部分。 具体目标2。 确定感觉运动通道内的新纹状体神经元是否在功能上耦合，并阐明其协调的一些规则。 我们假设，新纹状体神经元组的协调皮质纹状体通路，这种协调是由组织和时间序列的活动，在这些途径。 为了验证这一假设，我们将记录多个新纹状体神经元在自发和刺激诱导的活动。 交叉相关分析将被用来描述新纹状体神经元的反应模式相对于外周刺激模式的变化。

The neostriatum and other basal ganglia nuclei play a role in the etiology of several neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, Tourette's syndrome, and schizophrenia. To understand how the neostriatum processes information from the cerebral cortex, we will study the topography of corticostriatal connections and their relationship to the coordination of neostriatal activity. Specific Aim 1. To determine the precise topographic organization of corticostriatal projections from somatosensory areas that process functionally-related information. We hypothesize that cortical areas that are activated conjointly or in close temporal sequence during behavior are more likely to project to overlapping neostriatal regions than cortical areas that are not coactivated during somesthesis-guided behaviors. To test this hypothesis, we will reconstruct anterogradely-labeled corticostriatal terminals originating from different parts of primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortex. Specific Aim 2. To determine if neostriatal neurons within the sensorimotor channels are functionally coupled and to elucidate some of the rules governing their coordination. We hypothesize that groups of neostriatal neurons are coordinated by the corticostriatal pathways, and that this coordination is governed by the organization and temporal sequence of activity in those pathways. To test this hypothesis, we will record multiple neostriatal neurons during spontaneous and stimulus-induced activity. Cross-correlation analysis will be used to characterize changes in the response patterns of neostriatal neurons with respect to the pattern of peripheral stimulation.