Studies of animals with ablations of varying amounts of the neocortex, the neostriatum, or both, are reviewed in an attempt to establish to which extent functions of the neostriatum are dependent on its cortical input. Scarce and inconclusive evidence does not allow firm conclusions. It seems well established that the neostriatum shares some functions with the neocortex. In the rat and infant m...

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NRs) are a group of ionotropic glutamate receptors in the brain and they are composed of heteromeric subunits (NR1, NR2A-D and NR3). In the neostriatum, a brain region that is associated with movement in animals, NMDA channels are known to involve in the motor control. Our previous report (Lai et al., 2000, Neuroscience 98, 493-500) has shown that a single dose o...

To examine changes in corticostriatal synaptic transmission in rats with ethanol withdrawal syndrome, intracellular and extracellular responses to subcortical white matter stimulation were recorded in neostriatal slice preparations. The resting membrane potential, input resistance and depolarizing postsynaptic potentials to single cortical white matter stimulation were similar in the neostriatu...

–It has previously been demonstrated, in dual probe microdialysis studies, that stimulation of the neostriatum with kainic acid causes the release of GABA both locally within the neostriatum and distally in the substantia nigra, observations that are consistent with the known anatomy of the basal ganglia. The object of the present study was to further examine the characteristics of GABA release...

The neostriatum is known to receive glutamatergic projections from the cerebral cortex and thalamic nuclei. Vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2 (VGluT1 and VGluT2) are located on axon terminals of corticostriatal and thalamostriatal afferents, respectively, whereas VGluT3 is found in axon terminals of cholinergic interneurons in the neostriatum. In the present study, the postsynaptic local...

Endogenous adenosine can enter the extracellular space either by direct release or via formation from adenine nucleotides. We have compared the effects of substances blocking the ecto-5'-nucleotidase with α, β-methylene adenosine 5'-diphosphate (AOPCP) or adenosine kinase with iodotubercidin (Itu) on field potentials in the hippocampus and the neostriatum in vitro evoked by stimulation of the s...

Spiny neurons in neostriatum are vulnerable to cerebral ischemia. To reveal the mechanisms underlying the postischemic neuronal damage, the spontaneous activities, evoked postsynaptic potentials and membrane properties of spiny neurons in rat neostriatum were compared before and after transient forebrain ischemia using intracellular recording and staining techniques in vivo. In control animals ...

Compulsive overconsumption of reward characterizes disorders ranging from binge eating to drug addiction. Here, we provide evidence that enkephalin surges in an anteromedial quadrant of dorsal neostriatum contribute to generating intense consumption of palatable food. In ventral striatum, mu opioid circuitry contributes an important component of motivation to consume reward. In dorsal neostriat...

Motivational processes are constantly at work to focus us on relevant stimuli for survival. The mesolimbic dopamine system has been strongly linked to motivation and reward-directed behavior, especially in regions such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. However, the nigrostriatal (substantia nigra to neostriatum) pathway has also been implicated in reward and motivation. Incen...

The timing, hemispheric laterality, and mode of termination of input from the prefrontal association cortex to the neostriatum were studied in fetal and neonatal rhesus monkeys using autoradiography for tracing connections. In addition, the cytological maturation of the neostriatum was examined in Nissl-stained sections from the same and other monkeys of selected prenatal and postnatal ages. A ...