These noncanonical input structures would need more evidence to conclusively demonstrate the existence selleck chemicals llc of these connections. We built brain-wide maps of inputs to the two main projection

cell types in striatum, discovering both striking similarities and notable differences in the patterns of synaptic input to the direct or indirect pathway that were not observable using standard anatomical approaches. Cortical and limbic structures provided biased proportions of synaptic input to the two basal ganglia pathways, whereas individual cortical layers, thalamic nuclei, and dopaminergic input were largely equivalent across the two classes of striatal MSN. By using genetic tools to segregate the inputs to D1R and D2R-expressing MSNs, we demonstrated that information segregation into the basal ganglia occurs before the level of the striatal medium spiny neuron, and that different brain structures vary in degree to which they preferentially innervate specific

target cell classes in the striatum. The specific roles of the direct and indirect pathways in behavior have been debated for decades, and identification of the sources of synaptic inputs 3MA to these circuits may provide fresh insight into their function. Classical models of the basal ganglia have suggested that the direct pathway facilitates, whereas the indirect pathway suppresses, movements also and actions (Albin et al., 1989 and DeLong, 1990), yet their roles are surely more complex than this. Modeling and evidence from reinforcement paradigms suggest that, within specific contexts, the direct pathway may facilitate previously-rewarded actions, whereas the indirect pathway may suppress previously-unrewarded actions (Bromberg-Martin et al., 2010, Frank et al., 2004, Hikida et al., 2010 and Kravitz et al., 2012). Such a scheme relies on an integration of motor, sensory, and reward information, yet little is known about how this information is relayed

to the basal ganglia or how it might affect specific cell types (Fee, 2012). Dopamine is hypothesized to oppositely act on direct- and indirect-pathway MSNs via distinct signaling through Gs-coupled D1 and Gi-coupled D2 receptors (Gerfen et al., 1990), but differential actions of motor and sensory afferents on MSN subtypes has not, to our knowledge, been proposed. Here, we find differential innervation of indirect-pathway MSNs by motor cortex afferents, whereas inputs transmitting contextual information (sensory/limbic) preferentially innervate direct-pathway MSNs. This architecture suggests a model of basal ganglia function in which action information (e.g., efference copy) is differentially transmitted to the indirect pathway, potentially to suppress competing actions, or to prime the animal to switch to the next step in an action sequence.