Nigrostriatal dopamine pathway regulates auditory discrimination behavior

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33747-2
• Publication Date: 2022-10-08T13:02:41Z
• Authors: Allen P. F. Chen; Jeffrey M. Malgady; Lu Chen; Kaiyo W. Shi; Eileen Cheng; Joshua L. Plotkin; Shaoyu Ge; Qiaojie Xiong
• Keywords: Pars compacta; Medium spiny neuron

Abstract The auditory striatum, the tail portion of dorsal striatum in basal ganglia, is implicated perceptual decision-making, transforming stimuli to action outcomes. Despite its known connections diverse neurological conditions, dopaminergic modulation sensory striatal neuronal activity and behavioral influences remain unknown. We demonstrated that optogenetic inhibition projections from substantia nigra pars compacta specifically impairs mouse choice performance but not movement an frequency discrimination task. In vivo dopamine calcium imaging freely behaving mice revealed this projection modulates tone representations, tone-evoked release inversely correlated with evidence strength tones. Optogenetic D1-receptor expressing neurons pharmacological D1 receptors dampened accuracy. Our study uncovers a phasic mechanism within nigrostriatal system regulates decisions by modulating ongoing perception.