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| Open AccessMicroengineered devices enable long-term imaging of the ventral nerve cord in behaving adult Drosophila
Minimally invasive procedures for tracking neural activity are important for understanding of neural networks. Here the authors describe microfabricated implants and windows that enable long-term recordings of motor circuit activity in Drosophila, allowing them to watch how neurons change their structure and activity over weeks.
- Laura Hermans
- , Murat Kaynak
- & Pavan Ramdya
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Article
| Open AccessDeficiency in endocannabinoid synthase DAGLB contributes to early onset Parkinsonism and murine nigral dopaminergic neuron dysfunction
2- arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), an abundant endocannabinoid in the brain, regulates diverse neural functions. Here, the authors identified four loss-of-function mutations in dicylglycerol lipase β (DAGLB) from six patients with early onset Parkinsonism. In mice, loss of DAGLB in dopamine neurons reduced neuronal activity and impaired locomotor function and augmentation of 2-AG levels boosted neuronal activity and rescued locomotor deficits.
- Zhenhua Liu
- , Nannan Yang
- & Beisha Tang
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| Open AccessStable choice coding in rat frontal orienting fields across model-predicted changes of mind
A leaky accumulation model can predict rats’ changes of mind during decision making in a dynamic environment explaining reversals in frontal cortical activity and demonstrating a stable choice code despite environmental uncertainty.
- J. Tyler Boyd-Meredith
- , Alex T. Piet
- & Carlos D. Brody
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| Open AccessLocomotion-induced ocular motor behavior in larval Xenopus is developmentally tuned by visuo-vestibular reflexes
Visual perception works best when eye movement counteracts the effects of body movement. This study describes how such coordination first emerges and matures during development in frog larvae.
- Julien Bacqué-Cazenave
- , Gilles Courtand
- & François M. Lambert
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| Open AccessNeural signals regulating motor synchronization in the primate deep cerebellar nuclei
It remains unclear how the brain represents information regarding synchronized movements. Here, the authors investigated the response properties of cerebellar cells in macaques performing a synchronized saccade task and found three groups of cerebellar neurons with distinct peri-saccade response profiles.
- Ken-ichi Okada
- , Ryuji Takeya
- & Masaki Tanaka
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| Open AccessTransition from predictable to variable motor cortex and striatal ensemble patterning during behavioral exploration
It is not fully understood how behavioral flexibility is established in the context of automatic performance of a complex motor skill. Here the authors show that corticostriatal activity can flexibly transition between two modes during a reach to-grasp task in rats: reliable neural pattern generation for precise, automatic movements versus variable neural patterning for behavioral exploration.
- Sravani Kondapavulur
- , Stefan M. Lemke
- & Karunesh Ganguly
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Article
| Open AccessSubthalamic nucleus stabilizes movements by reducing neural spike variability in monkey basal ganglia
Chemogenetic inactivation of the subthalamic nucleus in monkeys increases spike train variability in the pallidum and prolongs movement time, suggesting its role in stabilizing pallidal spike trains to achieve stable motor control.
- Taku Hasegawa
- , Satomi Chiken
- & Atsushi Nambu
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| Open AccessNeural structure of a sensory decoder for motor control
Behavioral variation is thought to result from noise in sensory representations or final motor commands. In this study, the authors investigate variability in eye movements and model that variability as resulting from noisy sensorimotor transformations occurring in the middle temporal visual area.
- Seth W. Egger
- & Stephen G. Lisberger
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| Open AccessCerebellar connectivity maps embody individual adaptive behavior in mice
The variability in synaptic connectivity observed at the cerebellar granule cell - Purkinje cell connection in mice accounts for motor behavior traits at the individual level, suggesting that cerebellar networks encode internal models underlying individual-specific motor adaptation.
- Ludovic Spaeth
- , Jyotika Bahuguna
- & Philippe Isope
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| Open AccessTargeted activation of midbrain neurons restores locomotor function in mouse models of parkinsonism
Here, the authors use cell-type specific stimulation of brainstem neurons within the caudal pedunculopontine nucleus to show that activation of excitatory neurons can normalize severe locomotor deficit in mouse models of parkinsonism. The study defines a potential target for neuromodulatory restoration of locomotor function in Parkinson’s disease.
- Débora Masini
- & Ole Kiehn
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic targeting enables domain-general inhibitory control over action and thought by the prefrontal cortex
The authors use fMRI to show that the ability to stop unwanted actions and thoughts arises from a common stopping mechanism that flexibly inhibits activity in diverse, content-specific brain areas.
- Dace Apšvalka
- , Catarina S. Ferreira
- & Michael C. Anderson
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Article
| Open AccessProactive and reactive accumulation-to-bound processes compete during perceptual decisions
Models of perceptual decision making typically take into account either reactive responses to external stimuli or proactive aspects to decision making. Here the authors found that rat perceptual responses are generated by a combination of the standard evidence accumulation process with a fixed decision boundary, and a separate stochastic boundary collapse triggered by a parallel proactive process.
- Lluís Hernández-Navarro
- , Ainhoa Hermoso-Mendizabal
- & Alexandre Hyafil
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| Open AccessAn injury-induced serotonergic neuron subpopulation contributes to axon regrowth and function restoration after spinal cord injury in zebrafish
The mechanisms involved in regeneration of the spinal cord after injury are unclear. Here, the authors show that a subpopulation of intraspinal serotonergic neurons localized at the injury site stimulates axonal regrowth of interneurons via 5-HT1B receptor, resulting in recovery of function following SCI in zebrafish.
- Chun-Xiao Huang
- , Yacong Zhao
- & Jianren Song
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| Open AccessTrpm5 channels encode bistability of spinal motoneurons and ensure motor control of hindlimbs in mice
The authors show that Trpm5, but not Trpm4, is the main Na+ -permeant channel mediating the warmth-activated ICaN in lumbar motoneurons. Trpm5 is also critical in generating plateau potentials in bistable motoneurons that are essential for producing a postural tone in hindlimbs and amplifying the locomotor output.
- Rémi Bos
- , Benoît Drouillas
- & Frédéric Brocard
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| Open AccessA cerebellar internal model calibrates a feedback controller involved in sensorimotor control
Animals can adjust their behavior in response to changes in the environment when these changes can be predicted. Here the authors show the role of the cerebellum in zebrafish that change their swimming as they adjust to long-lasting changes in visual feedback
- Daniil A. Markov
- , Luigi Petrucco
- & Ruben Portugues
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| Open AccessMid-lateral cerebellar complex spikes encode multiple independent reward-related signals during reinforcement learning
The role of complex spikes in reinforcement learning is still unclear. Here, the authors show that complex spikes carry multiple context based, cell type specific and learning dependent signals that are independent of changes in any motor kinematics and unlikely to instruct the concurrent simple spike activity during reinforcement learning.
- Naveen Sendhilnathan
- , Anna Ipata
- & Michael E. Goldberg
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| Open AccessA habenula-insular circuit encodes the willingness to act
A crucial component of voluntary behaviour is deciding that it is worth doing something rather than nothing. Here the authors show the brain network that encodes this decision, which includes the habenula and anterior insula.
- Nima Khalighinejad
- , Neil Garrett
- & Matthew F. S. Rushworth
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| Open AccessA medullary centre for lapping in mice
Orofacial movements for feeding can be triggered, coordinated and rhythmically organised at the level of the brainstem. Here, the authors show two nuclei can organise the stereotyped movements for ingesting fluids in mammals, these neuronal groups are marked by expression of Phox2b and are located in the intermediate reticular formation of the medulla and around the motor nucleus of the trigeminal nerve.
- Bowen Dempsey
- , Selvee Sungeelee
- & Jean-François Brunet
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| Open AccessNoninvasive spinal stimulation safely enables upright posture in children with spinal cord injury
Scoliosis due to trunk muscle paralysis frequently requires surgical treatment in children with spinal cord injury. The authors demonstrate the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous spinal stimulation to enable upright sitting posture in 7/8 children with trunk control impairment in a within-subjects, repeated measures pilot clinical trial.
- Anastasia Keller
- , Goutam Singh
- & Andrea L. Behrman
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| Open AccessA harmonized atlas of mouse spinal cord cell types and their spatial organization
Single-cell profiling has led to the identification of diverse cell types. Here, the authors generate a harmonized cell atlas of the mouse post-natal spinal cord. They also provide spatial analysis of the distribution of the identified cell types and an open-source cell type classifier.
- Daniel E. Russ
- , Ryan B. Patterson Cross
- & Ariel J. Levine
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| Open AccessMagnetothermal nanoparticle technology alleviates parkinsonian-like symptoms in mice
Deep-brain stimulation ameliorates parkinsonian symptoms, but it usually requires permanent implantation of hardware and connectors. Here, the authors show magnetothermal neuromodulation through the activation of TRPV1 can improve locomotor deficits in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.
- Sarah-Anna Hescham
- , Po-Han Chiang
- & Yasin Temel
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Article
| Open AccessDistinct dynamics of neuronal activity during concurrent motor planning and execution
Animal behaviour is governed by planning and executing movements. Here, using non-stereotypical movements to separate planning and executional processes, the authors find evidence for slow processes for planning and fast processes for movement execution.
- David Eriksson
- , Mona Heiland
- & Ilka Diester
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| Open AccessB-SOiD, an open-source unsupervised algorithm for identification and fast prediction of behaviors
The study of naturalistic behaviour using video tracking is challenging. Here the authors develop a system, B-SOiD which allows automated behavioural tracking and segmentation of video of movements tested in mice, flies and humans.
- Alexander I. Hsu
- & Eric A. Yttri
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Article
| Open AccessNeural signatures of hyperdirect pathway activity in Parkinson’s disease
In Parkinson’s disease (PD), beta frequency oscillations are synchronised across the cortico-basal-ganglia circuit. The authors show in human participants that high beta frequencies propagate from the cortex to the basal ganglia via the hyperdirect pathway, indicating a pathophysiological role for this pathway in PD.
- Ashwini Oswal
- , Chunyan Cao
- & Vladimir Litvak
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| Open AccessLocomotion dependent neuron-glia interactions control neurogenesis and regeneration in the adult zebrafish spinal cord
The mechanisms stimulating adult neurogenesis are unclear. Here, the authors show the contribution of cholinergic and GABAergic signalling within the locomotor network to spinal cord neurogenesis during homeostasis and regeneration, showing neurogenesis depends on circuit activity in the adult zebrafish.
- Weipang Chang
- , Andrea Pedroni
- & Konstantinos Ampatzis
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Comment
| Open AccessOptical deep-cortex exploration in behaving rhesus macaques
Two papers published in June 2021 used a two-photon microscope or one-photon miniature microscope to interrogate the motor cortex in behaving macaque monkeys. The imaging was performed over several months, and the direction of natural arm reaching was decoded from the population activity.
- Masanori Matsuzaki
- & Teppei Ebina
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Article
| Open AccessThe tectonigral pathway regulates appetitive locomotion in predatory hunting in mice
Goal-oriented movement is a fundamental animal behaviour. Here, the authors show that neurons in the superior colliculus project to the substantia nigra pars compacta, regulating dopaminergic signaling and specifically appetitive locomotion in mice.
- Meizhu Huang
- , Dapeng Li
- & Peng Cao
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| Open AccessDendritic calcium signals in rhesus macaque motor cortex drive an optical brain-computer interface
Surface two-photon imaging of the brain cannot access somatic calcium signals of neurons from deep layers of the macaque cortex. Here, the authors present an implant and imaging system for chronic motion-stabilized two-photon imaging of dendritic calcium signals to drive an optical brain-computer interface in macaques.
- Eric M. Trautmann
- , Daniel J. O’Shea
- & Krishna V. Shenoy
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Article
| Open AccessLocomotor deficits in a mouse model of ALS are paralleled by loss of V1-interneuron connections onto fast motor neurons
Here the authors show in a model of ALS that motor neurons receive stronger inhibitory synaptic inputs than slow motor neurons, and disease progression is associated with specific loss of inhibitory synapses onto fast motor neurons.
- Ilary Allodi
- , Roser Montañana-Rosell
- & Ole Kiehn
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| Open AccessRegulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit
Patterned movements in animals are achieved through combinations of contraction and delayed relaxation of muscles. Here, the authors identify a class of cholinergic higher-order premotor interneurons that regulates muscular relaxation during backward locomotion of Drosophila larvae.
- Atsuki Hiramoto
- , Julius Jonaitis
- & Akinao Nose
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Article
| Open AccessExpression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia regulates vocal motor sequences in the adult songbird
Disruption of FOXP2 cause Childhood Apraxia of Speech, a speech disorder marked by difficulties in accurately sequencing vocal motor actions. The authors show that disruption of FoxP2 in the adult songbird similarly disrupts birdsong and link dopaminergic signalling to disruptions in song production.
- Lei Xiao
- , Devin P. Merullo
- & Todd F. Roberts
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| Open AccessLocal field potentials in the parietal reach region reveal mechanisms of bimanual coordination
Primates use their arms in complex ways, frequently involving coordination between the two arms. Here, the authors show that task-specific information is shared across the hemispheres in a frequency-specific manner, perhaps in service of bimanual coordination.
- Eric Mooshagian
- , Charles D. Holmes
- & Lawrence H. Snyder
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| Open AccessSingle nucleus RNA-sequencing defines unexpected diversity of cholinergic neuron types in the adult mouse spinal cord
The full heterogeneity and different functional roles of cholinergic neurons in the adult spinal cord remain to be defined. Here the authors develop a targeted single nuclear RNA sequencing approach and use it to identify an array of cholinergic interneurons, as well as visceral and skeletal motor neurons.
- Mor R. Alkaslasi
- , Zoe E. Piccus
- & Claire E. Le Pichon
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Article
| Open AccessAutonomous Purkinje cell activation instructs bidirectional motor learning through evoked dendritic calcium signaling
Plastic reweighting of parallel fiber synaptic strength is a mechanism for the acquisition of cerebellum-dependent motor learning. Here, the authors found that optogenetic activation of PCs generates dendritic Ca2+ signals that induce plasticity in vitro and instruct learned changes to coincident eye movements in vivo.
- Audrey Bonnan
- , Matthew M. J. Rowan
- & Jason M. Christie
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| Open AccessMulti-pronged neuromodulation intervention engages the residual motor circuitry to facilitate walking in a rat model of spinal cord injury
Deep brain stimulation and epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord enable locomotion in humans with spinal cord injury (SCI) but the potential synergy between both approaches is unclear. The authors show that a complex technological approach is required to enable volitional walking in rats with SCI.
- Marco Bonizzato
- , Nicholas D. James
- & Gregoire Courtine
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| Open AccessNeuromodulation of the cerebellum rescues movement in a mouse model of ataxia
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has potential for several movement disorders. Here the authors show that DBS improves motor function in a mouse model of ataxia.
- Lauren N. Miterko
- , Tao Lin
- & Roy V. Sillitoe
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| Open AccessMeasurement, manipulation and modeling of brain-wide neural population dynamics
Neural recording technologies increasingly enable simultaneous measurement of neural activity from multiple brain areas. To gain insight into distributed neural computations, a commensurate advance in experimental and analytical methods is necessary. We discuss two opportunities towards this end: the manipulation and modeling of neural population dynamics.
- Krishna V. Shenoy
- & Jonathan C. Kao
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| Open AccessMultiscale low-dimensional motor cortical state dynamics predict naturalistic reach-and-grasp behavior
Motor control involves neural dynamics at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Here the authors show that a multiscale, low-dimensional dynamical structure that is shared between scales and subjects reflects naturalistic reach-and-grasp movements in macaques.
- Hamidreza Abbaspourazad
- , Mahdi Choudhury
- & Maryam M. Shanechi
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| Open AccessRecruitment of upper-limb motoneurons with epidural electrical stimulation of the cervical spinal cord
The efficacy of epidural electrical stimulation (EES) to engage arm muscles and improve movement after spinal cord injury is still unclear. Here, the authors investigated how EES can recruit upper-limb motor neurons by combining computational modelling with experiments in non-human primates.
- Nathan Greiner
- , Beatrice Barra
- & Marco Capogrosso
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Article
| Open AccessRemembrance of things practiced with fast and slow learning in cortical and subcortical pathways
Surprisingly, motor cortex becomes less involved in performing skilled motor behaviors as they are practiced. This is addressed by a model of two descending pathways featuring different types of learning: fast learning in a cortical pathway to maximize rewards and slow learning in a subcortical pathway to reinforce behaviors through repetition.
- James M. Murray
- & G. Sean Escola
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Article
| Open AccessSegment-specific optogenetic stimulation in Drosophila melanogaster with linear arrays of organic light-emitting diodes
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can offer an attractive approach for providing light stimulation in high-throughput optogenetics. Here, the authors report a microstructured OLED array that provides local photo-stimulation in Drosophila melanogaster larvae for controlled motor responses.
- Caroline Murawski
- , Stefan R. Pulver
- & Malte C. Gather
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Article
| Open AccessDistributed control of motor circuits for backward walking in Drosophila
Drosophila Moonwalker Descending Neurons (MDNs) alter leg motor circuit dynamics so that the fly walks backwards. The authors identify two MDN effector neurons that directly control the stance and swing phases of the backward stepping cycle, indicating distributed control of local motor circuits via command-type descending neurons.
- Kai Feng
- , Rajyashree Sen
- & Barry J. Dickson
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Article
| Open AccessEthanol abolishes vigilance-dependent astroglia network activation in mice by inhibiting norepinephrine release
The effects of norepinephrine on sensory processing in cortical networks are altered by recreational drugs like ethanol. The authors show that ethanol suppresses the activation of astrocytes by inhibiting norepinephrine release which may contribute to the cognitive effects of alcohol intoxication.
- Liang Ye
- , Murat Orynbayev
- & Martin Paukert
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Article
| Open AccessA FN-MdV pathway and its role in cerebellar multimodular control of sensorimotor behavior
Delay eyeblink conditioning depends on the simplex lobule-interposed nucleus pathway in the cerebellum. Here, the authors show that the vermis-fastigial nucleus-medullary reticular nucleus pathway modulates the conditioned and unconditioned eyelid closure during delay eyeblink conditioning.
- Xiaolu Wang
- , Si-yang Yu
- & Zhenyu Gao
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Article
| Open AccessGABAergic motor neurons bias locomotor decision-making in C. elegans
Motor neurons are generally considered to be passive receivers of commands from other neurons. However, this study shows that motor neurons may shape locomotor behaviour by regulating premotor neurons, and that premotor neurons serve to integrate information from sensory neurons and motor neurons.
- Ping Liu
- , Bojun Chen
- & Zhao-Wen Wang
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Article
| Open AccessAutomated markerless pose estimation in freely moving macaques with OpenMonkeyStudio
The rhesus macaque is an important model species in several branches of science, but the utility of this model would be enhanced by the ability to measure behaviour throughout pose. Here, the authors describe a deep learning-based markerless motion capture system for estimating 3D pose in freely moving macaques.
- Praneet C. Bala
- , Benjamin R. Eisenreich
- & Jan Zimmermann
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Article
| Open AccessPlasticity of muscle synergies through fractionation and merging during development and training of human runners
Motor commands for human locomotion are generated by combination of muscle synergies. In humans, muscle synergies for running exhibit considerable plasticity during child-to-adult development and adult training to meet the constantly changing biomechanical and efficiency demands.
- Vincent C. K. Cheung
- , Ben M. F. Cheung
- & Roy T. H. Cheung
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-trial cross-area neural population dynamics during long-term skill learning
Learning skilled movements requires evolution in neural population dynamics both within and across cortical regions. Here, the authors combine simultaneous recordings of motor and premotor cortex with computational methods to show that single-trial cross-area dynamics correlate with single-trial behavior performance and skill acquisition.
- T. L. Veuthey
- , K. Derosier
- & K. Ganguly
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Article
| Open AccessOrbitofrontal-striatal potentiation underlies cocaine-induced hyperactivity
Psychomotor stimulants increase dopamine levels in the striatum and promote locomotion but their effects on striatal pathways in vivo remain unclear. The authors show that cocaine increases the activity of direct and indirect pathway striatal neurons of awake mice via the orbitofrontal cortex.
- Sebastiano Bariselli
- , Nanami L. Miyazaki
- & Alexxai V. Kravitz