Asymmetric cortical projections to striatal direct and indirect pathways distinctly control actions

Abstract The striatal direct and indirect pathways constitute the core for basal ganglia function in action control. Although both striatal D1- and D2-spiny projection neurons (SPNs) receive excitatory inputs from the cerebral cortex, whether or not they share inputs from the same cortical neurons, and how pathway-specific corticostriatal projections control behavior remain largely unknown. Here using a G-deleted rabies system in mice, we found that more than two-thirds of excitatory inputs to D2-SPNs also target D1-SPNs, while only one-third do so vice versa . Optogenetic stimulation of striatal D1- vs. D2-SPN-projecting cortical neurons differently regulate locomotion, reinforcement learning and sequence behavior, implying the functional dichotomy of pathway-specific corticostriatal subcircuits. These results reveal the partially segregated yet asymmetrically overlapping cortical projections on striatal D1- vs. D2-SPNs, and that the pathway-specific corticostriatal subcircuits distinctly control behavior. It has important implications in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric diseases affecting cortico-basal ganglia circuitry. In Brief: Klug, Yan et al. employed a modified rabies system in combination with slice physiology, optogenetics and behavioral tests to reveal that pathway-specific corticostriatal subcircuits distinctly control actions. Highlights One-third of the excitatory inputs to D1-SPNs project to D2-SPNs, while two-third of the excitatory inputs to D2-SPNs also target D1-SPNs Activation of D1-SPN projecting cortical neurons triggers behavioral effects in line with postsynaptic striatal direct pathway activation Activation of D2-SPN projecting cortical neurons causes behavioral effects similar with co-activation of both direct and indirect pathways Corticostriatal subcircuits control actions in a brain-region and pathway-specific manner