ramon's Apicella:P [2 articles]

Abstract

The behavioral relationships of 396 striatum neurons with regular, tonically elevated discharge rates were studied. While monkeys performed a delayed gonogo task, neurons predominantly located in medial putamen responded with phasic depressions (n = 30) or activations (n = 5) to task-specific stimuli. Particularly effective was an instruction light preparing for movement or no-movement reactions, and an auditory signal associated with reward delivery. Stimuli triggering arm or mouth movements were less effective. The data demonstrate that these usually poorly modulated neurons ...

Abstract

The sources of input and the behavioral effects of lesions and drug administration suggest that the striatum participates in motivational processes. We investigated the activity of single striatal neurons of monkeys in response to reward delivered for performing in a go-nogo task. A drop of liquid was given each time the animal correctly executed or withheld an arm movement in reaction to a visual stimulus. Of 1593 neurons, 115 showed increased activity in response to delivery of liquid reward in both ...