Action-suppression in the basal ganglia: mediated by a neural implementation of the Race-model?

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Robert Schmidt
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2010 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192182730

• Final Report Year: 2013

Final Report Abstract

Cognitive psychologists have long modeled action cancellation as a race between “Go” and “Stop” processes, but without clear evidence that this truly reflects neurobiological mechanisms. We have now discovered a literal race in the brain between distinct circuits: one through striatum that drives movement initiation, and another through the subthalamic nucleus that interrupts movements in preparation. These pathways converge on the substantia nigra (pars reticulata; SNr), and the order in which signals arrive determines whether stopping is successful, or not. By comparing activity in multiple rat basal ganglia structures during performance of a stop-signal task we found that subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons showed low-latency responses to Stop cues, irrespective of whether actions were successfully canceled or not. By contrast, neurons downstream in SNr responded to Stop cues only in trials with successful cancellation. Recordings and simulations together indicate that this sensorimotor gating arises from the relative timing of two distinct inputs to neurons in the SNr dorsolateral “core” subregion: Stop cue-related excitation from STN and movement-related inhibition from striatum. Our results support race models of action cancellation, with successful stopping requiring Stop cue information to be transmitted from STN to SNr before increased striatal input creates a point of no return.

Publications

• (2011). Subthalamic nucleus activity during action initiation and suppression in rats and humans. Neuroscience Meeting Planner, Washington: Society for Neuroscience
  R. Schmidt, S. Dodani, D.K. Leventhal, J.R. Pettibone, A.C. Case, P.G. Patil and J.D. Berke
  
• (2012). Action suppression in the basal ganglia. Cosyne Meeting, Salt Lake City, USA
  R. Schmidt, D.K. Leventhal, J.R. Pettibone, A.C. Case and J.D. Berke
  
• (2012). Basal ganglia beta oscillations accompany cue utilization. Neuron 73: 523-536
  D.K. Leventhal, G.J. Gage, R. Schmidt, J.R. Pettibone, A.C. Case, and J.D. Berke
  
• (2012). Canceling actions involves a race between basal ganglia pathways. Neuroscience Meeting Planner, New Orleans: Society for Neuroscience
  R. Schmidt, D.K. Leventhal, N.M. Mallet, Chen, F. and J.D. Berke