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Abstract
The striatum is a complex structure in which the organization in two compartments (striosomes and matrix) have been defined by their neurochemical profile and their input-output connections. The striosomes receive afferences from the limbic brain areas and send projections to the dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta. Thereby, it has been suggested that the striosomes exert a limbic control over the motor function mediated by the surrounding matrix. However, the functionality of the striosomes are not completely understood. To elucidate the role of the striosomes on the regulation of the nigral dopamine neurons, we have induced specific ablation of this compartment by striatal injections of the neurotoxin dermorphin-saporin (DS) and dopamine neurotransmission markers have been analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The degeneration of the striosomes resulted in a nigrostriatal projections imbalance between the two striatal compartments, with an increase of the dopamine neurotransmission in the striosomes and a decrease in the matrix. The present results highlight the key function of the striosomes for the maintenance of the striatal dopamine tone and would contribute to the understanding of their involvement in some neurological disorders such as Huntington’s disease.
Highlights
The caudate putamen (CPu) is one of the main nuclei of the basal ganglia which engages a variety of functions like the control of voluntary movement, learning from habit formation to complex motor sequences, decision-making and motivational behavior [1,2,3]
Two primary striatofugal projection pathways have been established according to their projection targets: i) direct pathway, which innervates the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr); and ii) indirect pathway which provides efferents to the SNr, through relay connections to globus pallidus (GP) and subthalamic nucleus (STh) [4]
The main objective of this study was to increase our knowledge in the role of the striosomal projection onto the dopamine neurons of the SNc and its impact on the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway
Summary
The caudate putamen (CPu) is one of the main nuclei of the basal ganglia which engages a variety of functions like the control of voluntary movement, learning from habit formation to complex motor sequences, decision-making and motivational behavior [1,2,3]. The CPu receives glutamatergic afferents from different cortical areas, the thalamus and the amygdala, as well as dopaminergic inputs from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) [4]. Two primary striatofugal projection pathways have been established according to their projection targets: i) direct pathway, which innervates the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr); and ii) indirect pathway which provides efferents to the SNr, through relay connections to globus pallidus (GP) and subthalamic nucleus (STh) [4]. The most abundant striatal neurons (90%) consist of medium-sized spiny projecting neurons (MSNs) which use GABA as neurotransmitter. The remaining striatal neurons (10%) are interneurons that have been classified into four.
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