A comprehensive excitatory input map of the striatum reveals novel functional organization

eLife. 2016 Nov 28; 5:e19103. doi: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19103

Barbara J Hunnicutt, Bart C Jongbloets, William T Birdsong, Katrina J Gertz, Haining Zhong, Tianyi Mao.

Abstract
The striatum integrates excitatory inputs from the cortex and the thalamus to control diverse functions. Although the striatum is thought to consist of sensorimotor, associative and limbic domains, their precise demarcations and whether additional functional subdivisions exist remain unclear. How striatal inputs are differentially segregated into each domain is also poorly understood. This study presents a comprehensive map of the excitatory inputs to the mouse striatum. The input patterns reveal boundaries between the known striatal domains. The most posterior striatum likely represents the 4th functional subdivision, and the dorsomedial striatum integrates highly heterogeneous, multimodal inputs. The complete thalamo-cortico-striatal loop is also presented, which reveals that the thalamic subregions innervated by the basal ganglia preferentially interconnect with motor-related cortical areas. Optogenetic experiments show the subregion-specific heterogeneity in the synaptic properties of striatal inputs from both the cortex and the thalamus. This projectome will guide functional studies investigating diverse striatal functions.