Alterations in Corticostriatal Synaptic Function in Huntington's and Parkinson's Diseases

Publisher Summary This chapter explores that the striatum is centrally located to receive a variety of synaptic inputs that are integrated and distributed to appropriate output regions producing adaptive behaviors, through cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loops. These functions are precisely regulated by the coordinated pre- and postsynaptic actions of dopamine (DA) modulating voltage- and ligand-gated conductances in medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs), the principal cell type in striatum, as well as a variety of interneurons. Huntington's disease (HD) involves dysfunction and eventual degeneration of striatal and cortical neurons, whereas dysfunction and subsequent degeneration of DA neurons lead to Parkinson's disease (PD). The chapter reviews that with the introduction of animal models of HD and PD, it has become possible to study electrophysiological changes in basal ganglia neurons and, more specifically, alterations along the corticostriatal pathway in each of these disorders. It reviews that the role of changes in this pathway contributes to cognitive and motor disturbances in HD and PD models. It also focuses on alterations of the corticostriatal pathway in genetic mouse models.