Excitatory drive to the globus pallidus external segment facilitates action initiation in non-human primates.

ABSTRACT: The external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe) has conventionally been regarded as a key relay in the indirect pathway of the basal ganglia, primarily mediating movement suppression; however, recent studies in rodents suggest a more complex role, including active facilitation of actions. Therefore, we investigated whether the primate GPe exhibits similar functional diversity by recording single-unit activity in two macaque monkeys performing a sequential choice task. This task separated processes of action initiation and suppression by requiring the monkeys to either accept a "good" object for reward or reject a "bad" object using one of multiple strategies. We identified three distinct neuronal clusters based on their firing patterns. Clusters 1 and 2 displayed elevated activity preced

SUBMITTER: Yoshida A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12191113 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature