Trends in Neurosciences
Volume 27, Issue 8, 1 August 2004, Pages 468-474
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Putting a spin on the dorsal–ventral divide of the striatum

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2004.06.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Since its conception three decades ago, the idea that the striatum consists of a dorsal sensorimotor part and a ventral portion processing limbic information has sparked a quest for functional correlates and anatomical characteristics of the striatal divisions. But this classic dorsal–ventral distinction might not offer the best view of striatal function. Anatomy and neurophysiology show that the two striatal areas have the same basic structure and that sharp boundaries are absent. Behaviorally, a distinction between dorsolateral and ventromedial seems most valid, in accordance with a mediolateral functional zonation imposed on the striatum by its excitatory cortical, thalamic and amygdaloid inputs. Therefore, this review presents a synthesis between the dorsal–ventral distinction and the more mediolateral-oriented functional striatal gradient.

Section snippets

Challenges to the dorsal–ventral striatal distinction from behavioral studies

Neurons encoding motivational value of stimuli, or combinations of stimulus significance and motor responses, can be found throughout the striatum [3]. Yet, in line with a dorsal–ventral striatal division, appetitive behavior and reinforcement are generally agreed to be ventral striatal functions 4, 5, 6. This is well exemplified by the behavioral effects of psychostimulant drugs, such as amphetamine and cocaine. Psychostimulant drugs exert their effects on reward, locomotion and response to

Behavioral distinctions and similarities between core and shell

What sets the shell apart from the core and the rest of the striatum is its involvement in the expression of certain innate, unconditioned behaviors. Shell lesions disrupt maternal behavior [45], and infusion of GABAA receptor agonists or AMPA receptor antagonists into the shell evokes, depending on the infusion site, feeding or defensive behavior 5, 46. These shell-elicited affective actions depend on its projection to the lateral hypothalamus, and probably subserve fast adaptive switching of

Striatal divisions: serial or parallel function?

The reviewed behavioral data indicate similarities between the dorsal and ventral striatal regions, concomitant with medial–lateral differences that support a more graded, dorsolateral-to-ventromedial functional organization. This agrees well with the functional division of the striatum imposed by the mediolateral zonal topography of its excitatory inputs from cortex, thalamus and amygdala. Within this division there are, in turn, dorsal–ventral differences, for example in somatotopy, in

Acknowledgements

Our research has been supported by the Dutch Medical Research Council NWO-ZonMW (P.V., L.J.M.J.V., H.J.G. and C.M.A.P.), the Human Frontier Science Program (T.W.R. and C.M.A.P.), the Wellcome Trust (T.W.R.) and the Medical Research Council (T.W.R.).

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