RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dorsomedial striatal activity tracks completion of behavioral sequences
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.01.437899
DO 10.1101/2021.04.01.437899
A1 Youna Vandaele
A1 David J Ottenheimer
A1 Patricia H Janak
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/02/2021.04.01.437899.abstract
AB For proper execution of goal-directed behaviors, individuals require both a general representation of the goal and an ability to monitor their own progress toward that goal. Here, we examine how dorsomedial striatum (DMS), a region pivotal for forming associations among stimuli, actions, and outcomes, encodes the execution of goal-directed action sequences that require self-monitoring of behavior. We trained rats to complete a sequence of at least 5 consecutive lever presses (without visiting the reward port) to obtain a reward and recorded the activity of individual cells in DMS while rats performed the task. We found that the pattern of DMS activity gradually changed during the execution of the sequence, permitting accurate decoding of sequence progress from neural activity at a population level. Moreover, this sequence-related activity was blunted on trials where rats did not complete a sufficient number of presses. Overall, these data suggest a link between DMS activity and the execution of behavioral sequences that require monitoring of ongoing behavior.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.