Khibnik, Lena A.Tritsch, Nicolas XSabatini, Bernardo2014-09-082014Khibnik, Lena A., Nicolas X. Tritsch, and Bernardo L. Sabatini. 2014. “A Direct Projection from Mouse Primary Visual Cortex to Dorsomedial Striatum.” PLoS ONE 9 (8): e104501. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104501.1932-6203http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12785903The mammalian striatum receives inputs from many cortical areas, but the existence of a direct axonal projection from the primary visual cortex (V1) is controversial. In this study we use anterograde and retrograde tracing techniques to demonstrate that V1 directly innervates a topographically defined longitudinal strip of dorsomedial striatum in mice. We find that this projection forms functional excitatory synapses with direct and indirect pathway striatal projection neurons (SPNs) and engages feed-forward inhibition onto these cells. Importantly, stimulation of V1 afferents is sufficient to evoke phasic firing in SPNs. These findings therefore identify a striatal region that is functionally innervated by V1 and suggest that early visual processing may play an important role in striatal-based behaviors.en-USBiology and Life SciencesAnatomyNervous SystemNeuroanatomyNeural PathwaysMotor SystemNeuroscienceSensory SystemsVisual SystemNeurotransmissionJournal Article2014-09-0810.1371/journal.pone.0104501