Neuromodulation of striatal D1 cells shapes BOLD fluctuations in anatomically connected thalamic and cortical regions

Understanding how macroscale brain dynamics are shaped by microscale mechanisms is crucial in neuroscience. We investigate this relationship in animal models by directly manipulating cellular properties and measuring whole-brain responses using resting-state fMRI. Specifically, we explore the impact of chemogenetically neuromodulating D1 medium spiny neurons in the dorsomedial caudate putamen (CPdm) on BOLD dynamics within a striato-thalamo-cortical circuit in mice. Our findings indicate that CPdm neuromodulation alters BOLD dynamics in thalamic subregions projecting to the dorsomedial striatum, influencing both local and inter-regional connectivity in cortical areas. This study contributes to understanding structure–function relationships in shaping inter-regional communication between subcortical and cortical levels.