Rapid Alterations in Corticostriatal Ensemble Coordination during Acute Dopamine-Dependent Motor Dysfunction

Neural oscillations in the primate caudate nucleus correlate with different preparatory states for temporal production

When measuring time, neuronal activity in the cortico-basal ganglia pathways has been shown to be temporally scaled according to the interval, suggesting that signal transmission within the pathways is flexibly controlled. Here we show that, in the caudate nuclei of monkeys performing a time production task with three different intervals, the magnitude of visually-evoked potentials at the beginning of an interval differed depending on the conditions. Prior to this response, the power of low frequency components (6–20 Hz) significantly changed, showing inverse correlation with the visual response gain. Although these components later exhibited time-dependent modification during self-timed period, the changes in spectral power for interval conditions qualitatively and quantitatively differed from those associated with the reward amount. These results suggest that alteration of network state in the cortico-basal ganglia pathways indexed by the low frequency oscillations may be crucial for the regulation of signal transmission and subsequent timing behavior.

Tomoki Suzuki and Masaki Tanaka measured local field potentials in the caudate nucleus of monkeys performing a time production task and showed that the length of the time interval modified the magnitude of visually-evoked potentials and the spectral power at low frequencies. These changes suggest that neural oscillations within the cortico-basal ganglia pathways regulate timing behavior.

Differential effects of Foxp2 disruption in distinct motor circuits

Disruptions of the FOXP2 gene cause a speech and language disorder involving difficulties in sequencing orofacial movements. FOXP2 is expressed in cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar circuits important for fine motor skills, and affected individuals show abnormalities in these brain regions. We selectively disrupted Foxp2 in the cerebellar Purkinje cells, striatum or cortex of mice and assessed the effects on skilled motor behaviour using an operant lever-pressing task. Foxp2 loss in each region impacted behaviour differently, with striatal and Purkinje cell disruptions affecting the variability and the speed of lever-press sequences, respectively. Mice lacking Foxp2 in Purkinje cells showed a prominent phenotype involving slowed lever pressing as well as deficits in skilled locomotion. In vivo recordings from Purkinje cells uncovered an increased simple spike firing rate and decreased modulation of firing during limb movements. This was caused by increased intrinsic excitability rather than changes in excitatory or inhibitory inputs. Our findings show that Foxp2 can modulate different aspects of motor behaviour in distinct brain regions, and uncover an unknown role for Foxp2 in the modulation of Purkinje cell activity that severely impacts skilled movements.

Admixing MPTP-resistant and MPTP-vulnerable mice enhances striatal field potentials and calbindin-D28K expression to avert motor behaviour deficits

Asian-Indians are less vulnerable to Parkinson's disease (PD) than the Caucasians. Their admixed populace has even lesser risk. Studying this phenomenon using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-susceptible C57BL/6J, MPTP-resistant CD-1 and their resistant crossbred mice revealed differences in the nigrostriatal cyto-molecular features. Here, we investigated the electrophysiological and behavioural correlates for differential MPTP-susceptibility and their outcome upon admixing. We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) from dorsal striatum and assessed motor co-ordination using rotarod and grip strength measures. Nigral calbindin-D28K expression, a regulator of striatal activity through nigrostriatal projections was evaluated using immunohistochemistry. The crossbreds had significantly higher baseline striatal LFPs. MPTP significantly increased the neuronal activity in delta (0.5-4 Hz) and low beta (12-16 Hz) ranges in C57BL/6J; significant increase across frequency bands till high beta (0.5-30 Hz) in CD-1, and caused no alterations in crossbreds. MPTP further depleted the already low nigral calbindin-D28K expression in C57BL/6J. While in crossbreds, it was further up-regulated. MPTP affected the rotarod and grip strength performance of the C57BL/6J, while the injected CD-1 and crossbreds performed well. The increased striatal β-oscillations are comparable to that in PD patients. Higher power in CD-1 may be compensatory in nature, which were also reported in pre-symptomatic monkeys. Concurrent up-regulation of nigral calbindin-D28K may assist maintenance of striatal activity by buffering calcium overload in nigra. Thus, preserved motor behaviour in PD reminiscent conditions in CD-1 and crossbreds complement compensated/unaffected striatal LFPs. Similar electrophysiological correlates and cytomorphological features are envisaged in human phenomenon of differential PD prevalence, which are modulated upon admixing.

Glutamatergic and dopaminergic modulation of cortico-striatal circuits probed by dynamic calcium imaging of networks reconstructed in microfluidic chips

Although the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia are functionally interconnected by parallel loops, cellular substrates underlying their interaction remain poorly understood. One novel approach for addressing this issue is microfluidics, a methodology which recapitulates several intrinsic and synaptic properties of cortico-subcortical networks. We developed a microfluidic device where cortical neurons projected onto striatal neurons in a separate compartment. We exploited real-time (low-resolution/high-output) calcium imaging to register network dynamics and characterize the response to glutamatergic and dopaminergic agents. Reconstructed cortico-striatal networks revealed the progressive appearance of cortical VGLUT1 clusters on striatal dendrites, correlating with the emergence of spontaneous and synchronous glutamatergic responses of striatal neurons to concurrent cortical stimulation. Striatal exposure to the NMDA receptor GluN2A subunit antagonist TCN201 did not affect network rhythm, whereas the GluN2B subunit antagonist RO256981 significantly decreased striatal activity. Dopamine application or the D2/D3 receptor agonist, quinpirole, decreased cortico-striatal synchrony whereas the D1 receptor agonist, SKF38393, was ineffective. These data show that cortico-striatal networks reconstructed in a microfluidic environment are synchronized and present characteristics close to those of their in situ counterparts. They should prove instructive for deciphering the molecular substrates of CNS disorders and evaluating the actions of novel therapeutic agents.

Altered Local Field Potential Relationship Between the Parafascicular Thalamic Nucleus and Dorsal Striatum in Hemiparkinsonian Rats

The thalamostriatal pathway is implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, PD-related changes in the relationship between oscillatory activity in the centromedian-parafascicular complex (CM/Pf, or the Pf in rodents) and the dorsal striatum (DS) remain unclear. Therefore, we simultaneously recorded local field potentials (LFPs) in both the Pf and DS of hemiparkinsonian and control rats during epochs of rest or treadmill walking. The dopamine-lesioned rats showed increased LFP power in the beta band (12 Hz–35 Hz) in the Pf and DS during both epochs, but decreased LFP power in the delta (0.5 Hz–3 Hz) band in the Pf during rest epochs and in the DS during both epochs, compared to control rats. In addition, exaggerated low gamma (35 Hz–70 Hz) oscillations after dopamine loss were restricted to the Pf regardless of the behavioral state. Furthermore, enhanced synchronization of LFP oscillations was found between the Pf and DS after the dopamine lesion. Significant increases occurred in the mean coherence in both theta (3 Hz–7 Hz) and beta bands, and a significant increase was also noted in the phase coherence in the beta band between the Pf and DS during rest epochs. During the treadmill walking epochs, significant increases were found in both the alpha (7 Hz–12 Hz) and beta bands for two coherence measures. Collectively, dramatic changes in the relative LFP power and coherence in the thalamostriatal pathway may underlie the dysfunction of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical network circuits in PD, contributing to some of the motor and non-motor symptoms of the disease.

Unraveling connectivity changes due to dopaminergic therapy in chronically treated Parkinson's disease patients

The effects of dopaminergic therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD) on the brain functional architecture are still unclear. We investigated this topic in 31 PD patients (disease duration: 11.2 ± (SD) 3.6 years) who underwent clinical and MRI assessments under chronic dopaminergic treatment (duration: 8.3 ± (SD) 4.4 years) and after its withdrawal. Thirty healthy controls were also included. Functional and morphological changes were studied, respectively, with eigenvector centrality mapping and seed-based connectivity, and voxel-based morphometry. Patients off medication, compared to controls, showed increased connectivity in cortical sensorimotor areas extending to the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway and parietal and frontal brain structures. Dopaminergic therapy normalized this increased connectivity. Notably, patients showed decreased interconnectedness in the medicated compared to the unmedicated condition, encompassing putamen, precuneus, supplementary motor and sensorimotor areas bilaterally. Similarly, lower connectivity was found comparing medicated patients to controls, overlapping with the within-group comparison in the putamen. Seed-based analyses revealed that dopaminergic therapy reduced connectivity in motor and default mode networks. Lower connectivity in the putamen correlated with longer disease duration, medication dose, and motor symptom improvement. Notably, atrophy and connectivity changes were topographically dissociated. After chronic treatment, dopaminergic therapy decreases connectivity of key motor and default mode network structures that are abnormally elevated in PD off condition.

Circadian and Homeostatic Modulation of Multi-Unit Activity in Midbrain Dopaminergic Structures

Although the link between sleep disturbances and dopamine (DA)-related neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders is well established, the impact of sleep alterations on neuronal activity of midbrain DA-ergic structures is currently unknown. Here, using wildtype C57Bl mice, we investigated the circadian- and sleep-related modulation of electrical neuronal activity in midbrain ventral-tegmental-area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN). We found no significant circadian modulation of activity in SN while VTA displayed a low amplitude but significant circadian modulation with increased firing rates during the active phase. Combining neural activity recordings with electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings revealed a strong vigilance state dependent modulation of neuronal activity with increased activity during wakefulness and rapid eye movement sleep relative to non-rapid eye movement sleep in both SN and VTA. Six-hours of sleep deprivation induced a significant depression of neuronal activity in both areas. Surprisingly, these alterations lasted for up to 48 hours and persisted even after the normalization of cortical EEG waves. Our results show that sleep and sleep disturbances significantly affect neuronal activity in midbrain DA structures. We propose that these changes in neuronal activity underlie the well-known relationship between sleep alterations and several disorders involving dysfunction of the DA circuitry such as addiction and depression.

Subthalamic oscillatory activity and connectivity during gait in Parkinson's disease

Local field potentials (LFP) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) recorded during walking may provide clues for determining the function of the STN during gait and also, may be used as biomarker to steer adaptive brain stimulation devices. Here, we present LFP recordings from an implanted sensing neurostimulator (Medtronic Activa PC + S) during walking and rest with and without stimulation in 10 patients with Parkinson's disease and electrodes placed bilaterally in the STN. We also present recordings from two of these patients recorded with externalized leads. We analyzed changes in overall frequency power, bilateral connectivity, high beta frequency oscillatory characteristics and gait-cycle related oscillatory activity. We report that deep brain stimulation improves gait parameters. High beta frequency power (20-30 Hz) and bilateral oscillatory connectivity are reduced during gait, while the attenuation of high beta power is absent during stimulation. Oscillatory characteristics are affected in a similar way. We describe a reduction in overall high beta burst amplitude and burst lifetimes during gait as compared to rest off stimulation. Investigating gait cycle related oscillatory dynamics, we found that alpha, beta and gamma frequency power is modulated in time during gait, locked to the gait cycle. We argue that these changes are related to movement induced artifacts and that these issues have important implications for similar research.

Striatal cholinergic receptor activation causes a rapid, selective and state-dependent rise in cortico-striatal β activity

Cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic (CBT) β oscillations (15-30 Hz) are elevated in Parkinson's disease and correlated with movement disability. To date, no experimental paradigm outside of loss of dopamine has been able to specifically elevate β oscillations in the CBT loop. Here, we show that activation of striatal cholinergic receptors selectively increased β oscillations in mouse striatum and motor cortex. In individuals showing simultaneous β increases in both striatum and M1, β partial directed coherence (PDC) increased from striatum to M1 (but not in the reverse direction). In individuals that did not show simultaneous β increases, β PDC increased from M1 to striatum (but not in the reverse direction), and M1 was characterized by persistent β-high frequency oscillation phase-amplitude coupling. Finally, the direction of β PDC distinguished between β sub-bands. This suggests that (1) striatal cholinergic tone exerts state-dependent and frequency-selective control over CBT β power and coordination; (2) ongoing rhythmic dynamics can determine whether elevated β oscillations are expressed in striatum and M1; and (3) altered striatal cholinergic tone differentially modulates distinct β sub-bands.

Limitations of the rat medial forebrain lesion model to study prefrontal cortex mediated cognitive tasks in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Besides motor impairment, PD patients exhibit non-motor symptoms that negatively impact their quality of life and often manifest prior to motor deficits. One such symptom is mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), which is comprised of deficits in executive function such as working memory, attention, cognitive flexibility, and spatial memory. The 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced unilateral medial forebrain bundle (MFB) lesion animal model successfully recapitulates PD motor impairment but is also used to assess non-motor deficits. The present study utilizes a unilateral 6-OHDA induced MFB lesion rodent model to investigate prefrontal cortex (PFC)-mediated cognitive processes that are impaired in PD patients. In a test of attentional set shifting, PD rodents demonstrated deficits in simple discrimination, but not in rule reversal or extradimensional shifts. PD rodents also exhibited deficits in a temporal order memory task but had no deficits in novel/spatial object recognition or object-in-place tasks. These results reveal limitations of the 6-OHDA induced unilateral MFB lesion model to completely recapitulate PD-MCI symptoms suggesting a need for better lesion models to study PD-MCI.

Dopamine D1 receptor activation maintains motor coordination and balance in rats

Dopamine (DA) modulates motor coordination, and its depletion, as in Parkinson's disease, produces motor impairment. The basal ganglia, cerebellum and cerebral cortex are interconnected, have functional roles in motor coordination, and possess dopamine D₁ receptors (D₁Rs), which are expressed at a particularly high density in the basal ganglia. In this study, we examined whether the activation of D₁Rs modulates motor coordination and balance in the rat using a beam-walking test that has previously been used to detect motor coordination deficits. The systemic administration of the D₁R agonist SKF-38393 at 2, 3, or 4 mg/kg did not alter the beam-walking scores, but the subsequent administration of the D₁R antagonist SCH-23390 at 1 mg/kg did produce deficits in motor coordination, which were reversed by the full agonist SKF-82958. The co-administration of SKF-38393 and SCH-23390 did not alter the beam-walking scores compared with the control group, but significantly prevented the increase in beam-walking scores induced by SCH-23390. The effect of the D₁R agonist to prevent and reverse the effect of the D₁R antagonist in beam-walking scores is an indicator that the function of D₁Rs is necessary to maintain motor coordination and balance in rats. Our results support that D₁Rs mediate the SCH-23390-induced deficit in motor coordination.

Changes in neuronal activity of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic networks induced by acute dopaminergic manipulations in rats

The basal ganglia are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in dopaminergic tone, and the realization that reduced dopaminergic signaling causes pronounced motor dysfunction is the rationale behind dopamine replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease. It has, however, proven difficult to identify which neurophysiological changes that ultimately lead to motor dysfunctions. To clarify this, we have here recorded neuronal activity throughout the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuits in freely behaving rats during periods of immobility following acute dopaminergic manipulations, involving both vesicular dopamine depletion and antagonism of D1 and D2 type dopamine receptors. Synchronized and rhythmic activities were detected in the form of betaband oscillations in local field potentials and as cortical entrainment of action potentials in several basal ganglia structures. Analyses of the temporal development of synchronized oscillations revealed a spread from cortex to gradually also include deeper structures. In addition, firing rate changes involving neurons in all parts of the network were observed. These changes were typically relatively balanced within each structure, resulting in negligible net rate changes. Animals treated with D1 receptor antagonist showed a rapid onset of hypokinesia that preceded most of the neurophysiological changes, with the exception of these balanced rate changes. Parallel rate changes in functionally coupled ensembles of neurons in different structures may therefore be the first step in a cascade of neurophysiological changes underlying motor symptoms in the parkinsonian state. We suggest that balanced rate changes in distributed networks are possible mechanism of disease that should be further investigated in conditions involving dopaminergic dysfunction.

The role of cortical oscillations in a spiking neural network model of the basal ganglia

Although brain oscillations involving the basal ganglia (BG) have been the target of extensive research, the main focus lies disproportionally on oscillations generated within the BG circuit rather than other sources, such as cortical areas. We remedy this here by investigating the influence of various cortical frequency bands on the intrinsic effective connectivity of the BG, as well as the role of the latter in regulating cortical behaviour. To do this, we construct a detailed neural model of the complete BG circuit based on fine-tuned spiking neurons, with both electrical and chemical synapses as well as short-term plasticity between structures. As a measure of effective connectivity, we estimate information transfer between nuclei by means of transfer entropy. Our model successfully reproduces firing and oscillatory behaviour found in both the healthy and Parkinsonian BG. We found that, indeed, effective connectivity changes dramatically for different cortical frequency bands and phase offsets, which are able to modulate (or even block) information flow in the three major BG pathways. In particular, alpha (8–12Hz) and beta (13–30Hz) oscillations activate the direct BG pathway, and favour the modulation of the indirect and hyper-direct pathways via the subthalamic nucleus—globus pallidus loop. In contrast, gamma (30–90Hz) frequencies block the information flow from the cortex completely through activation of the indirect pathway. Finally, below alpha, all pathways decay gradually and the system gives rise to spontaneous activity generated in the globus pallidus. Our results indicate the existence of a multimodal gating mechanism at the level of the BG that can be entirely controlled by cortical oscillations, and provide evidence for the hypothesis of cortically-entrained but locally-generated subthalamic beta activity. These two findings suggest new insights into the pathophysiology of specific BG disorders.

Local or Not Local: Investigating the Nature of Striatal Theta Oscillations in Behaving Rats

In the cortex and hippocampus, neuronal oscillations of different frequencies can be observed in local field potentials (LFPs). LFPs oscillations in the theta band (6–10 Hz) have also been observed in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) of rodents, mostly during locomotion, and have been proposed to mediate behaviorally-relevant interactions between striatum and cortex (or between striatum and hippocampus). However, it is unclear if these theta oscillations are generated in the striatum. To address this issue, we recorded LFPs and spiking activity in the DLS of rats performing a running sequence on a motorized treadmill. We observed an increase in rhythmical activity of the LFP in the theta-band during run compared to rest periods. However, several observations suggest that these oscillations are mainly generated outside of the striatum. First, theta oscillations disappeared when LFPs were rereferenced against a striatal recording electrode and the imaginary coherence between LFPs recorded at different locations within the striatum was null. Second, 8% of the recorded neurons had their spiking activity phase-locked to the theta rhythm. Third, Granger causality analyses between LFPs simultaneously recorded in the cortex and the striatum revealed that the interdependence between these two signals in the theta range was mostly accounted for by a common external source. The most parsimonious interpretation of these results is that theta oscillations observed in striatal LFPs are largely contaminated by volume-conducted signals. We propose that striatal LFPs are not optimal proxies of network dynamics in the striatum and should be interpreted with caution.

Generation of low-gamma oscillations in a GABAergic network model of the striatum

Striatal oscillations in the low-gamma frequency range have been consistently recorded in a number of experimental studies. However, whether these rhythms are locally generated in the striatum circuit, which is mainly composed of GABAergic neurons, remains an open question. GABAergic medium spiny projection neurons represent the great majority of striatal neurons, but they fire at very low rates. GABAergic fast-spiking interneurons typically show firing rates that are approximately 10 times higher than those of principal neurons, but they are a very small minority of the total neuronal population. In this study, based on physiological constraints we developed a computational network model of these neurons and dissected the oscillations. Simulations showed that the population of medium spiny projection neurons, and not the GABAergic fast-spiking interneurons, determines the frequency range of the oscillations. D2-type dopamine receptor-expressing neurons dominate the generation of low-gamma rhythms. Feedforward inputs from GABAergic fast-spiking interneurons promote the oscillations by strengthening the inhibitory interactions between medium spiny projection neurons. The promotion effect is independent of the degree of synchronization in the fast-spiking interneuron population but affected by the strength of their feedforward inputs to medium spiny projection neurons. Our results provide a theoretical explanation for how firing properties and connections of the three types of GABAergic neurons, which are susceptible to on-going behaviors, experience, and dopamine disruptions, sculpt striatal oscillations.

Activity Dynamics and Signal Representation in a Striatal Network Model with Distance-Dependent Connectivity

The striatum is the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia. Characterizing striatal activity dynamics is crucial to understanding mechanisms underlying action selection, initiation, and execution. Here, we studied the effects of spatial network connectivity on the spatiotemporal structure of striatal activity. We show that a striatal network with nonmonotonically changing distance-dependent connectivity (according to a gamma distribution) can exhibit a wide repertoire of spatiotemporal dynamics, ranging from spatially homogeneous, asynchronous-irregular (AI) activity to a state with stable, spatially localized activity bumps, as in “winner-take-all” (WTA) dynamics. Among these regimes, the unstable activity bumps [transition activity (TA)] regime closely resembles the experimentally observed spatiotemporal activity dynamics and neuronal assemblies in the striatum. In contrast, striatal networks with monotonically decreasing distance-dependent connectivity (in a Gaussian fashion) can exhibit only an AI state. Thus, given the observation of spatially compact neuronal clusters in the striatum, our model suggests that recurrent connectivity among striatal projection neurons should vary nonmonotonically. In brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, increased cortical inputs and high striatal firing rates are associated with a reduction in stimulus sensitivity. Consistent with this, our model suggests that strong cortical inputs drive the striatum to a WTA state, leading to low stimulus sensitivity and high variability. In contrast, the AI and TA states show high stimulus sensitivity and reliability. Thus, based on these results, we propose that in a healthy state the striatum operates in a AI/TA state and that lack of dopamine pushes it into a WTA state.

Enhanced GABA Transmission Drives Bradykinesia Following Loss of Dopamine D2 Receptor Signaling

Bradykinesia is a prominent phenotype of Parkinson's disease, depression, and other neurological conditions. Disruption of dopamine (DA) transmission plays an important role, but progress in understanding the exact mechanisms driving slowness of movement has been impeded due to the heterogeneity of DA receptor distribution on multiple cell types within the striatum. Here we show that selective deletion of DA D2 receptors (D2Rs) from indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs) is sufficient to impair locomotor activity, phenocopying DA depletion models of Parkinson's disease, despite this mouse model having intact DA transmission. There was a robust enhancement of GABAergic transmission and a reduction of in vivo firing in striatal and pallidal neurons. Mimicking D2R signaling in iMSNs with Gi-DREADDs restored the level of tonic GABAergic transmission and rescued the motor deficit. These findings indicate that DA, through D2R activation in iMSNs, regulates motor output by constraining the strength of GABAergic transmission.

Npas1+ Pallidal Neurons Target Striatal Projection Neurons

Compelling evidence demonstrates that the external globus pallidus (GPe) plays a key role in processing sensorimotor information. An anatomical projection from the GPe to the dorsal striatum has been described for decades. However, the cellular target and functional impact of this projection remain unknown. Using cell-specific transgenic mice, modern monosynaptic tracing techniques, and optogenetics-based mapping, we discovered that GPe neurons provide inhibitory inputs to direct and indirect pathway striatal projection neurons (SPNs). Our results indicate that the GPe input to SPNs arises primarily from Npas1-expressing neurons and is strengthened in a chronic Parkinson's disease (PD) model. Alterations of the GPe-SPN input in a PD model argue for the critical position of this connection in regulating basal ganglia motor output and PD symptomatology. Finally, chemogenetic activation of Npas1-expressing GPe neurons suppresses motor output, arguing that strengthening of the GPe-SPN connection is maladaptive and may underlie the hypokinetic symptoms in PD.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

An anatomical projection from the pallidum to the striatum has been described for decades, but little is known about its connectivity pattern. The authors dissect the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons involved in this projection, and show its cell-specific remodeling and strengthening in parkinsonian mice. Chemogenetic activation of Npas1(+) pallidal neurons that give rise to the principal pallidostriatal projection increases the time that the mice spend motionless. This argues that maladaptive strengthening of this connection underlies the paucity of volitional movements, which is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease.

Electrical stimulation of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord for Parkinson's disease

Spinal cord stimulation has been used for the treatment of chronic pain for decades. In 2009, our laboratory proposed, based on studies in rodents, that electrical stimulation of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord could become an effective treatment for motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Since our initial report in rodents and a more recent study in primates, several clinical studies have now described beneficial effects of dorsal column stimulation in parkinsonian patients. In primates, we have shown that dorsal column stimulation activates multiple structures along the somatosensory pathway and desynchronizes the pathological cortico-striatal oscillations responsible for the manifestation of PD symptoms. Based on recent evidence, we argue that neurological disorders such as PD can be broadly classified as diseases emerging from abnormal neuronal timing, leading to pathological brain states, and that the spinal cord could be used as a "channel" to transmit therapeutic electrical signals to disrupt these abnormalities. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Inducible ablation of dopamine D2 receptors in adult mice impairs locomotion, motor skill learning and leads to severe parkinsonism

Motor execution and planning are tightly regulated by dopamine D1 and D2 receptors present in basal ganglia circuits. Although stimulation of D1 receptors is known to enhance motor function, the global effect of D2 receptor (D2R) stimulation or blockade remains highly controversial, with studies showing increasing, decreasing or no changes in motor activity. Moreover, pharmacological and genetic attempts to block or eliminate D2R have led to controversial results that questioned the importance of D2R in motor function. In this study, we generated an inducible Drd2 null-allele mouse strain that circumvented developmental compensations found in constitutive Drd2^-/- mice and allowed us to directly evaluate the participation of D2R in spontaneous locomotor activity and motor learning. We have found that loss of D2R during adulthood causes severe motor impairments, including hypolocomotion, deficits in motor coordination, impaired learning of new motor routines and spontaneous catatonia. Moreover, severe motor impairment, resting tremor and abnormal gait and posture, phenotypes reminiscent of Parkinson's disease, were evident when the mutation was induced in aged mice. Altogether, the conditional Drd2 knockout model studied here revealed the overall fundamental contribution of D2R in motor functions and explains some of the side effects elicited by D2R blockers when used in neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Tourette's syndrome, dementia, alcohol-induced delusions and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Studying Brain Circuit Function with Dynamic Causal Modeling for Optogenetic fMRI

Defining the large-scale behavior of brain circuits with cell type specificity is a major goal of neuroscience. However, neuronal circuit diagrams typically draw upon anatomical and electrophysiological measurements acquired in isolation. Consequently, a dynamic and cell-type-specific connectivity map has never been constructed from simultaneous measurements across the brain. Here, we introduce dynamic causal modeling (DCM) for optogenetic fMRI experiments-which uniquely allow cell-type-specific, brain-wide functional measurements-to parameterize the causal relationships among regions of a distributed brain network with cell type specificity. Strikingly, when applied to the brain-wide basal ganglia-thalamocortical network, DCM accurately reproduced the empirically observed time series, and the strongest connections were key connections of optogenetically stimulated pathways. We predict that quantitative and cell-type-specific descriptions of dynamic connectivity, as illustrated here, will empower novel systems-level understanding of neuronal circuit dynamics and facilitate the design of more effective neuromodulation therapies.

A Low-Correlation Resting State of the Striatum during Cortical Avalanches and Its Role in Movement Suppression

During quiet resting behavior, involuntary movements are suppressed. Such movement control is attributed to cortico-basal ganglia loops, yet population dynamics within these loops during resting and their relation to involuntary movements are not well characterized. Here, we show by recording cortical and striatal ongoing population activity in awake rats during quiet resting that intrastriatal inhibition maintains a low-correlation striatal resting state in the presence of cortical neuronal avalanches. Involuntary movements arise from disturbed striatal resting activity through two different population dynamics. Nonselectively reducing intrastriatal γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor-A inhibition synchronizes striatal dynamics, leading to involuntary movements at low rate. In contrast, reducing striatal interneuron (IN)-mediated inhibition maintains decorrelation and induces intermittent involuntary movements at high rate. This latter scenario was highly effective in modulating cortical dynamics at a subsecond timescale. To distinguish intrastriatal processing from loop dynamics, cortex-striatum-midbrain cultures, which lack feedback to cortex, were used. Cortical avalanches in vitro were accompanied by low-correlated resting activity in the striatum and nonselective reduction in striatal inhibition synchronized striatal neurons similar to in vivo. Importantly, reduction of inhibition from striatal INs maintained low correlations in the striatum while reorganizing functional connectivities among striatal neurons. Our results demonstrate the importance of two major striatal microcircuits in distinctly regulating striatal and cortical resting state dynamics. These findings suggest that specific functional connectivities of the striatum that are maintained by local inhibition are important in movement control.

Why don’t neuronal “avalanches” in resting-state cortex cause involuntary movements? This study shows that a low-correlation striatal resting state suppresses such movements and explores mechanisms that disrupt this inhibition.

Even in the absence of apparent motor output, the brain produces a rich repertoire of neuronal activity patterns known as “resting state” activity. In the outer layer of the cortex, resting state patterns emerge as neuronal avalanches, precisely scale-invariant spatiotemporal bursts that often engage large populations of neurons. Little is known about how the brain suppresses involuntary movements during such activity. Here, we show that the striatum, which is part of the cortex-basal ganglia loop, maintains a low-correlation state during resting activity. By using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches with pharmacological manipulations, we demonstrate that the precise configuration of this low-correlation state effectively contributes to involuntary movements. Nonselective blockade of intra-striatal inhibition abolished the low-correlation striatal resting state, barely affected cortical avalanches, and led to involuntary movements at low rate. In contrast, selectively reducing striatal interneuron inhibition strongly affected cortical avalanches and triggered involuntary movements at high rate while maintaining a relatively decorrelated striatal resting state. Our results demonstrate the importance of different inhibitory striatal circuits in the suppression of involuntary movements and suggest that the precise spatiotemporal configuration of striatal activity plays an active role in the regulation of cortical resting state activity and motor control.

Short- and long-term dopamine depletion causes enhanced beta oscillations in the cortico-basal ganglia loop of parkinsonian rats

Abnormally enhanced beta oscillations have been found in deep brain recordings from human Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and in animal models of PD. Recent correlative evidence suggests that beta oscillations are related to disease-specific symptoms such as akinesia and rigidity. However, this hypothesis has also been repeatedly questioned by studies showing no changes in beta power in animal models using an acute pharmacologic dopamine blockade. To further investigate the temporal dynamics of exaggerated beta synchrony in PD, we investigated the reserpine model, which is characterized by an acute and stable disruption of dopamine transmission, and compared it to the chronic progressive 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model. Using simultaneous electrophysiological recordings in urethane anesthetized rats from the primary motor cortex, the subthalamic nucleus and the reticulate part of the substantia, we found evidence for enhanced beta oscillations in the basal ganglia of both animal models during the activated network state. In contrast to 6-OHDA, reserpine treated animals showed no involvement of primary motor cortex. Notably, beta coherence levels between primary motor cortex and basal ganglia nuclei were elevated in both models. Although both models exhibited elevated beta power and coherence levels, they differed substantially in respect to their mean peak frequency: while the 6-OHDA peak was located in the low beta range (17Hz), the reserpine peak was centered at higher beta frequencies (27Hz). Our results further support the hypothesis of an important pathophysiological relation between enhanced beta activity and akinesia in parkinsonism.

Spatially Compact Neural Clusters in the Dorsal Striatum Encode Locomotion Relevant Information

An influential striatal model postulates that neural activities in the striatal direct and indirect pathways promote and inhibit movement, respectively. Normal behavior requires coordinated activity in the direct pathway to facilitate intended locomotion and indirect pathway to inhibit unwanted locomotion. In this striatal model, neuronal population activity is assumed to encode locomotion relevant information. Here, we propose a novel encoding mechanism for the dorsal striatum. We identified spatially compact neural clusters in both the direct and indirect pathways. Detailed characterization revealed similar cluster organization between the direct and indirect pathways, and cluster activities from both pathways were correlated with mouse locomotion velocities. Using machine-learning algorithms, cluster activities could be used to decode locomotion relevant behavioral states and locomotion velocity. We propose that neural clusters in the dorsal striatum encode locomotion relevant information and that coordinated activities of direct and indirect pathway neural clusters are required for normal striatal controlled behavior. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Subthalamic, not striatal, activity correlates with basal ganglia downstream activity in normal and parkinsonian monkeys

The striatum and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) constitute the input stage of the basal ganglia (BG) network and together innervate BG downstream structures using GABA and glutamate, respectively. Comparison of the neuronal activity in BG input and downstream structures reveals that subthalamic, not striatal, activity fluctuations correlate with modulations in the increase/decrease discharge balance of BG downstream neurons during temporal discounting classical condition task. After induction of parkinsonism with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), abnormal low beta (8-15 Hz) spiking and local field potential (LFP) oscillations resonate across the BG network. Nevertheless, LFP beta oscillations entrain spiking activity of STN, striatal cholinergic interneurons and BG downstream structures, but do not entrain spiking activity of striatal projection neurons. Our results highlight the pivotal role of STN divergent projections in BG physiology and pathophysiology and may explain why STN is such an effective site for invasive treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease and other BG-related disorders.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16443.001

The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include tremor and slow movement, as well as loss of balance, depression and problems with sleep and memory. The death of neurons in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra pars compacta is one of the major hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. These neurons produce a chemical called dopamine, and their death reduces dopamine levels in another area of the brain called the striatum. This structure is one of five brain regions known collectively as the basal ganglia, which form a circuit that helps to control movement.

The most effective treatment currently available for advanced Parkinson’s disease entails lowering electrodes deep into the brain in order to shut down the activity of part of the basal ganglia. However, the target is not the striatum; instead it is a structure called the subthalamic nucleus. The striatum and the subthalamic nucleus are the two input regions of the basal ganglia: each sends signals to the other three structures downstream. So why does targeting the subthalamic nucleus, but not the striatum, reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

To shed some light on this issue, Deffains et al. recorded the activity of neurons in the basal ganglia before and after injecting two monkeys with a drug called MPTP. Related to heroin, MPTP produces symptoms in animals that resemble those of Parkinson’s disease. Before the injections, spontaneous fluctuations in the activity of the subthalamic nucleus produced matching changes in the activity of the three downstream basal ganglia structures. Fluctuations in the activity of the striatum, by contrast, had no such effect. Moreover, injecting the monkeys with MPTP caused the basal ganglia to fire in an abnormal highly synchronized rhythm, similar to that seen in Parkinson’s disease. Crucially, the subthalamic nucleus contributed to this abnormal rhythm, whereas the striatum did not.

The results presented by Deffains et al. provide a concrete explanation for why inactivating the subthalamic nucleus, but not the striatum, reduces the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Further research is now needed to explore how the striatum controls the activity of downstream regions of the basal ganglia, both in healthy people and in those with Parkinson's disease.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16443.002

Cross-hemispheric dopamine projections have functional significance

Dopamine signaling occurs on a subsecond timescale, and its dysregulation is implicated in pathologies ranging from drug addiction to Parkinson's disease. Anatomic evidence suggests that some dopamine neurons have cross-hemispheric projections, but the significance of these projections is unknown. Here we report unprecedented interhemispheric communication in the midbrain dopamine system of awake and anesthetized rats. In the anesthetized rats, optogenetic and electrical stimulation of dopamine cells elicited physiologically relevant dopamine release in the contralateral striatum. Contralateral release differed between the dorsal and ventral striatum owing to differential regulation by D2-like receptors. In the freely moving animals, simultaneous bilateral measurements revealed that dopamine release synchronizes between hemispheres and intact, contralateral projections can release dopamine in the midbrain of 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. These experiments are the first, to our knowledge, to show cross-hemispheric synchronicity in dopamine signaling and support a functional role for contralateral projections. In addition, our data reveal that psychostimulants, such as amphetamine, promote the coupling of dopamine transients between hemispheres.

Striatal cholinergic interneurons generate beta and gamma oscillations in the corticostriatal circuit and produce motor deficits

Cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic (CBT) neural circuits are critical modulators of cognitive and motor function. When compromised, these circuits contribute to neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In PD, motor deficits correlate with the emergence of exaggerated beta frequency (15-30 Hz) oscillations throughout the CBT network. However, little is known about how specific cell types within individual CBT brain regions support the generation, propagation, and interaction of oscillatory dynamics throughout the CBT circuit or how specific oscillatory dynamics are related to motor function. Here, we investigated the role of striatal cholinergic interneurons (SChIs) in generating beta and gamma oscillations in cortical-striatal circuits and in influencing movement behavior. We found that selective stimulation of SChIs via optogenetics in normal mice robustly and reversibly amplified beta and gamma oscillations that are supported by distinct mechanisms within striatal-cortical circuits. Whereas beta oscillations are supported robustly in the striatum and all layers of primary motor cortex (M1) through a muscarinic-receptor mediated mechanism, gamma oscillations are largely restricted to the striatum and the deeper layers of M1. Finally, SChI activation led to parkinsonian-like motor deficits in otherwise normal mice. These results highlight the important role of striatal cholinergic interneurons in supporting oscillations in the CBT network that are closely related to movement and parkinsonian motor symptoms.

Believer-Skeptic Meets Actor-Critic: Rethinking the Role of Basal Ganglia Pathways during Decision-Making and Reinforcement Learning

The flexibility of behavioral control is a testament to the brain's capacity for dynamically resolving uncertainty during goal-directed actions. This ability to select actions and learn from immediate feedback is driven by the dynamics of basal ganglia (BG) pathways. A growing body of empirical evidence conflicts with the traditional view that these pathways act as independent levers for facilitating (i.e., direct pathway) or suppressing (i.e., indirect pathway) motor output, suggesting instead that they engage in a dynamic competition during action decisions that computationally captures action uncertainty. Here we discuss the utility of encoding action uncertainty as a dynamic competition between opposing control pathways and provide evidence that this simple mechanism may have powerful implications for bridging neurocomputational theories of decision making and reinforcement learning.

Temperament and arousal systems: A new synthesis of differential psychology and functional neurochemistry

This paper critically reviews the unidimensional construct of General Arousal as utilised by models of temperament in differential psychology for example, to underlie 'Extraversion'. Evidence suggests that specialization within monoamine neurotransmitter systems contrasts with the attribution of a "general arousal" of the Ascending Reticular Activating System. Experimental findings show specialized roles of noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin systems in hypothetically mediating three complementary forms of arousal that are similar to three functional blocks described in classical models of behaviour within kinesiology, clinical neuropsychology, psychophysiology and temperament research. In spite of functional diversity of monoamine receptors, we suggest that their functionality can be classified using three universal aspects of actions related to expansion, to selection-integration and to maintenance of chosen behavioural alternatives. Monoamine systems also differentially regulate analytic vs. routine aspects of activities at cortical and striatal neural levels. A convergence between main temperament models in terms of traits related to described functional aspects of behavioural arousal also supports the idea of differentiation between these aspects analysed here in a functional perspective.

Subthalamic local field potentials in Parkinson's disease and isolated dystonia: An evaluation of potential biomarkers

Local field potentials (LFP) recorded from the subthalamic nucleus in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) demonstrate prominent oscillations in the beta (13-30 Hz) frequency range, and reduction of beta band spectral power by levodopa and deep brain stimulation (DBS) is correlated with motor symptom improvement. Several features of beta activity have been theorized to be specific biomarkers of the parkinsonian state, though these have rarely been studied in non-parkinsonian conditions. To compare resting state LFP features in PD and isolated dystonia and evaluate disease-specific biomarkers, we recorded subthalamic LFPs from 28 akinetic-rigid PD and 12 isolated dystonia patients during awake DBS implantation. Spectral power and phase-amplitude coupling characteristics were analyzed. In 26/28 PD and 11/12 isolated dystonia patients, the LFP power spectrum had a peak in the beta frequency range, with similar amplitudes between groups. Resting state power did not differ between groups in the theta (5-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), broadband gamma (50-200 Hz), or high frequency oscillation (HFO, 250-350 Hz) bands. Analysis of phase-amplitude coupling between low frequency phase and HFO amplitude revealed significant interactions in 19/28 PD and 6/12 dystonia recordings without significant differences in maximal coupling or preferred phase. Two features of subthalamic LFPs that have been proposed as specific parkinsonian biomarkers, beta power and coupling of beta phase to HFO amplitude, were also present in isolated dystonia, including focal dystonias. This casts doubt on the utility of these metrics as disease-specific diagnostic biomarkers.

Spinal cord stimulation improves forelimb use in an alpha-synuclein animal model of Parkinson's disease

Neuromodulation by spinal cord stimulation has been proposed as a symptomatic treatment for Parkinson's disease. We tested the chronic effects of spinal cord stimulation in a progressive model of Parkinson's based on overexpression of alpha-synuclein in the substantia nigra. Adult Sprague Dawley rats received unilateral injections of adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6) in the substantia nigra to express alpha-synuclein. Locomotion and forepaw use of the rats were evaluated during the next 10 weeks. Starting on week 6, a group of AAV6-injected rats received spinal cord stimulation once a week. At the end of the experiment, tyrosine hydroxylase and alpha-synuclein immunostaining were performed. Rats with unilateral alpha-synuclein expression showed a significant decrease in the use of the contralateral forepaw, which was mildly but significantly reverted by spinal cord stimulation applied once a week from the 6th to the 10th week after the AAV6 injection. Long-term spinal cord stimulation proved to be effective to suppress or delay motor symptoms in a sustained and progressive model of Parkinson's and might become an alternative, less invasive neuromodulation option to treat this disease.

Selective Increase of Auditory Cortico-Striatal Coherence during Auditory-Cued Go/NoGo Discrimination Learning

Goal directed behavior and associated learning processes are tightly linked to neuronal activity in the ventral striatum. Mechanisms that integrate task relevant sensory information into striatal processing during decision making and learning are implicitly assumed in current reinforcement models, yet they are still weakly understood. To identify the functional activation of cortico-striatal subpopulations of connections during auditory discrimination learning, we trained Mongolian gerbils in a two-way active avoidance task in a shuttlebox to discriminate between falling and rising frequency modulated tones with identical spectral properties. We assessed functional coupling by analyzing the field-field coherence between the auditory cortex and the ventral striatum of animals performing the task. During the course of training, we observed a selective increase of functional coupling during Go-stimulus presentations. These results suggest that the auditory cortex functionally interacts with the ventral striatum during auditory learning and that the strengthening of these functional connections is selectively goal-directed.

Systems-level neurophysiological state characteristics for drug evaluation in an animal model of levodopa-induced dyskinesia

Disorders affecting the central nervous system have proven particularly hard to treat, and disappointingly few novel therapies have reached the clinics in recent decades. A better understanding of the physiological processes in the brain underlying various symptoms could therefore greatly improve the rate of progress in this field. We here show how systems-level descriptions of different brain states reliably can be obtained through a newly developed method based on large-scale recordings in distributed neural networks encompassing several different brain structures. Using this technology, we characterize the neurophysiological states associated with parkinsonism and levodopa-induced dyskinesia in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease together with pharmacological interventions aimed at reducing dyskinetic symptoms. Our results show that the obtained electrophysiological data add significant information to conventional behavioral evaluations and hereby elucidate the underlying effects of treatments in greater detail. Taken together, these results potentially open up for studies of neurophysiological mechanisms underlying symptoms in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions that until now have been very hard to investigate in animal models of disease.

High Frequency Deep Brain Stimulation and Neural Rhythms in Parkinson's Disease

High frequency (HF) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). It effectively treats the cardinal motor signs of PD, including tremor, bradykinesia, and rigidity. The most common neural target is the subthalamic nucleus, located within the basal ganglia, the region most acutely affected by PD pathology. Using chronically-implanted DBS electrodes, researchers have been able to record underlying neural rhythms from several nodes in the PD network as well as perturb it using DBS to measure the ensuing neural and behavioral effects, both acutely and over time. In this review, we provide an overview of the PD neural network, focusing on the pathophysiological signals that have been recorded from PD patients as well as the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic benefits of HF DBS. We then discuss evidence for the relationship between specific neural oscillations and symptoms of PD, including the aberrant relationships potentially underlying functional connectivity in PD as well as the use of different frequencies of stimulation to more specifically target certain symptoms. Finally, we briefly describe several current areas of investigation and how the ability to record neural data in ecologically-valid settings may allow researchers to explore the relationship between brain and behavior in an unprecedented manner, culminating in the future automation of neurostimulation therapy for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases.

Corticostriatal dynamics encode the refinement of specific behavioral variability during skill learning

Learning to perform a complex motor task requires the optimization of specific behavioral features to cope with task constraints. We show that when mice learn a novel motor paradigm they differentially refine specific behavioral features. Animals trained to perform progressively faster sequences of lever presses to obtain reinforcement reduced variability in sequence frequency, but increased variability in an orthogonal feature (sequence duration). Trial-to-trial variability of the activity of motor cortex and striatal projection neurons was higher early in training and subsequently decreased with learning, without changes in average firing rate. As training progressed, variability in corticostriatal activity became progressively more correlated with behavioral variability, but specifically with variability in frequency. Corticostriatal plasticity was required for the reduction in frequency variability, but not for variability in sequence duration. These data suggest that during motor learning corticostriatal dynamics encode the refinement of specific behavioral features that change the probability of obtaining outcomes.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09423.001

Learning a new motor skill typically involves a degree of trial and error. Movements that achieve the desired outcome—from catching a ball to playing scales—are repeated and refined until they can be produced on demand. This process is made more difficult as the activity of individual neurons and muscle fibers can vary at random, and this reduces the ability to reproduce a given movement precisely and reliably.

It has been suggested that the motor system overcomes this problem by identifying those parts of a task that are essential for achieving the end goal, and then focusing resources on reducing the variability in the performance of those parts alone. Santos et al. now provide direct evidence in support of this proposal by recording the activity of neurons in motor regions of the mouse brain as the animals learn a lever pressing task.

By giving mice a food reward each time they pressed the lever four times in a row, Santos et al. trained the animals to press the lever in bouts. The experiment was then slightly modified, so that the mice had to perform the four lever presses more rapidly in order to earn their reward. Consistent with predictions, the average speed of lever pressing initially varied greatly, but this variability decreased as the animals learned the task. By contrast, the total duration of individual bouts of lever pressing—which depends largely on the number of times the mice press the lever—was just as variable after training as before.

A similar pattern emerged for the activity of individual motor neurons in the mouse brain. Whereas their activity initially varied greatly, this variability decreased over training. Moreover, it became increasingly linked to the variability in the speed of lever pressing, but not with the variability in the duration of individual bouts.

The work of Santos et al. has thus shown in real time how the motor system focuses its efforts on reducing variability in those specific parts of a task that are essential for achieving a goal. Without a process called corticostriatal plasticity, by which the motor system adapts, mice could not refine this variability.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09423.002

Task-rest modulation of basal ganglia connectivity in mild to moderate Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with abnormal synchronization in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops. We tested whether early PD patients without demonstrable cognitive impairment exhibit abnormal modulation of functional connectivity at rest, while engaged in a task, or both. PD and healthy controls underwent two functional MRI scans: a resting-state scan and a Stroop Match-to-Sample task scan. Rest-task modulation of basal ganglia (BG) connectivity was tested using seed-to-voxel connectivity analysis with task and rest time series as conditions. Despite substantial overlap of BG-cortical connectivity patterns in both groups, connectivity differences between groups had clinical and behavioral correlates. During rest, stronger putamen-medial parietal and pallidum-occipital connectivity in PD than controls was associated with worse task performance and more severe PD symptoms suggesting that abnormalities in resting-state connectivity denote neural network dedifferentiation. During the executive task, PD patients showed weaker BG-cortical connectivity than controls, i.e., between caudate-supramarginal gyrus and pallidum-inferior prefrontal regions, that was related to more severe PD symptoms and worse task performance. Yet, task processing also evoked stronger striatal-cortical connectivity, specifically between caudate-prefrontal, caudate-precuneus, and putamen-motor/premotor regions in PD relative to controls, which was related to less severe PD symptoms and better performance on the Stroop task. Thus, stronger task-evoked striatal connectivity in PD demonstrated compensatory neural network enhancement to meet task demands and improve performance levels. fMRI-based network analysis revealed that despite resting-state BG network compromise in PD, BG connectivity to prefrontal, premotor, and precuneus regions can be adequately invoked during executive control demands enabling near normal task performance.

Toward an autonomous brain machine interface: integrating sensorimotor reward modulation and reinforcement learning

For decades, neurophysiologists have worked on elucidating the function of the cortical sensorimotor control system from the standpoint of kinematics or dynamics. Recently, computational neuroscientists have developed models that can emulate changes seen in the primary motor cortex during learning. However, these simulations rely on the existence of a reward-like signal in the primary sensorimotor cortex. Reward modulation of the primary sensorimotor cortex has yet to be characterized at the level of neural units. Here we demonstrate that single units/multiunits and local field potentials in the primary motor (M1) cortex of nonhuman primates (Macaca radiata) are modulated by reward expectation during reaching movements and that this modulation is present even while subjects passively view cursor motions that are predictive of either reward or nonreward. After establishing this reward modulation, we set out to determine whether we could correctly classify rewarding versus nonrewarding trials, on a moment-to-moment basis. This reward information could then be used in collaboration with reinforcement learning principles toward an autonomous brain-machine interface. The autonomous brain-machine interface would use M1 for both decoding movement intention and extraction of reward expectation information as evaluative feedback, which would then update the decoding algorithm as necessary. In the work presented here, we show that this, in theory, is possible.

Pathophysiology of L-dopa-induced motor and non-motor complications in Parkinson's disease

Involuntary movements, or dyskinesia, represent a debilitating complication of levodopa (L-dopa) therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). L-dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) are ultimately experienced by the vast majority of patients. In addition, psychiatric conditions often manifested as compulsive behaviours, are emerging as a serious problem in the management of L-dopa therapy. The present review attempts to provide an overview of our current understanding of dyskinesia and other L-dopa-induced dysfunctions, a field that dramatically evolved in the past twenty years. In view of the extensive literature on LID, there appeared a critical need to re-frame the concepts, to highlight the most suitable models, to review the central nervous system (CNS) circuitry that may be involved, and to propose a pathophysiological framework was timely and necessary. An updated review to clarify our understanding of LID and other L-dopa-related side effects was therefore timely and necessary. This review should help in the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing the generation of dyskinetic symptoms.