Topic: cortico-striatal pathways

The ability to learn associations between sensory stimuli, actions and outcomes is crucial for adaptive perceptual decision-making. A key brain area supporting this ability is the striatum, which receives extensive signals from several cortical areas. These cortico-striatal pathways are shaped by two neuromodulators, dopamine and acetylcholine, whose levels are among the highest in the brain. Yet, how dopamine and acetylcholine interact to facilitate adaptive perceptual decision-making is unclear. To address this question, we characterized dopamine and acetylcholine release in the dorsolateral