Basal Ganglia Output Has a Permissive Non-Driving Role in a Signaled Locomotor Action Mediated by the Midbrain.

ABSTRACT: The basal ganglia are important for movement and reinforcement learning. Using mice of either sex, we found that the main basal ganglia GABAergic output in the midbrain, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), shows movement-related neural activity during the expression of a negatively reinforced signaled locomotor action known as signaled active avoidance; this action involves mice moving away during a warning signal to avoid a threat. In particular, many SNr neurons deactivate during active avoidance responses. However, whether SNr deactivation has an essential role driving or regulating active avoidance responses is unknown. We found that optogenetic excitation of SNr or striatal GABAergic fibers that project to an area in the pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPT) within the midbrain loc

SUBMITTER: Hormigo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896017 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature