Parallel processing of environmental recognition and locomotion in the mouse striatum

Information processing in behaving animals has been the target of many studies in the striatum; however, its dynamics and complexity remain to a large extent unknown. Here, we chronically recorded neuronal populations in dorsal striatum as mice were exposed to a novel environment, a paradigm which enables the dissociation of locomotion and environmental recognition. The findings indicate that non-overlapping populations of striatal projection neurons-the medium spiny neurons-reliably encode locomotion and environmental identity, whereas two subpopulations of short-spike interneurons encode distinct information: the fast spiking interneurons preferentially encode locomotion whereas the second type of interneurons preferentially encodes environmental identity. The three neuronal subgroups used cell-type specific coding schemes. This study provides evidence for the existence of parallel processing circuits within the sensorimotor region of the striatum.