Coincidence of cholinergic pauses, dopaminergic activation and depolarisation of spiny projection neurons drives synaptic plasticity in the striatum

Abstract

It remains unclear how corticostriatal synapses utilize reward prediction error signaling in order to reinforce reward-related behaviors. Here, the authors show that potentiation of corticostriatal synapses requires phasic dopamine activation, pauses in striatal cholinergic interneuron firing, and depolarization of spiny projection neurons.