NIH R01 · 2025
Dopamine modulation of synaptic plasticity and integration in the striatum
Project Summary: Learning and executing motor skills are crucial functions of the brain and involve the coordinated activity of the motor cortex and basal ganglia. Notably, the connections between the primary motor cortex (M1) and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS), a major target of M1 output neurons, are crucially involved in motor learning. Loss- of-function studies, such as DLS lesions or silencing spiny projection neurons (SPNs) impairs learned motor behaviors, and blocking SPN plasticity by deleting NMDA receptors on SPNs prevents mice from learning new motor skills. In addition, in movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia, disruption of ensemble…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.