Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States.
Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Bron, France.
Elife. 2017 Dec 4;6:e31627. doi: 10.7554/eLife.31627.
The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is hypothesized to play a central role in the rapid stopping of movement in reaction to a stop signal. Single-unit recording evidence for such a role is sparse, however, and it remains uncertain how that role relates to the disparate functions described for anatomic subdivisions of the STN. Here we address that gap in knowledge using non-human primates and a task that distinguishes reactive and proactive action inhibition, switching and skeletomotor functions. We found that specific subsets of STN neurons have activity consistent with causal roles in reactive action stopping or switching. Importantly, these neurons were strictly segregated to a ventromedial region of STN. Neurons in other subdivisions encoded task dimensions such as movement and proactive control. We propose that the involvement of STN in reactive control is restricted to its ventromedial portion, further implicating this STN subdivision in impulse control disorders.
底丘脑核（STN）被假设在对停止信号做出反应时快速停止运动中起核心作用。然而，支持这种作用的单细胞记录证据很少，并且尚不确定该作用与 STN 解剖细分所描述的不同功能有何关系。在这里，我们使用非人类灵长类动物和一个区分反应性和主动性动作抑制、切换和骨骼运动功能的任务来解决这一知识空白。我们发现，STN 的特定亚群神经元的活动与反应性动作停止或切换的因果作用一致。重要的是，这些神经元严格局限于 STN 的腹内侧区域。其他细分领域的神经元编码运动和主动性控制等任务维度。我们提出，STN 参与反应性控制仅限于其腹侧部分，这进一步暗示了 STN 细分在冲动控制障碍中的作用。
