Striatal cholinergic interneurons and cortico-striatal synaptic plasticity in health and disease

Deffains M(1)(2), Bergman H(1)(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Medical Neurobiology (Physiology), Institute for Medical
Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School,
Jerusalem, Israel.
(2)The Edmond and Lily Safra Center (ELSC) for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew
University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Basal ganglia disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and Huntington’s
disease are characterized by a dysregulation of the basal ganglia
neuromodulators (dopamine, acetylcholine, and others), which impacts
cortico-striatal transmission. Basal ganglia disorders are often associated with
an imbalance between the midbrain dopaminergic and striatal cholinergic systems.
In contrast to the extensive research and literature on the consequences of a
malfunction of midbrain dopaminergic signaling on the plasticity of the
cortico-striatal synapse, very little is known about the role of striatal
cholinergic interneurons in normal and pathological control of cortico-striatal
transmission. In this review, we address the functional role of striatal
cholinergic interneurons, also known as tonically active neurons and attempt to
understand how the alteration of their functional properties in basal ganglia
disorders leads to abnormal cortico-striatal synaptic plasticity. Specifically,
we suggest that striatal cholinergic interneurons provide a permissive signal,
which enables long-term changes in the efficacy of the cortico-striatal synapse.
We further discuss how modifications in the striatal cholinergic activity
pattern alter or prohibit plastic changes of the cortico-striatal synapse.
Long-term cortico-striatal synaptic plasticity is the cellular substrate of
procedural learning and adaptive control behavior. Hence, abnormal changes in
this plasticity may underlie the inability of patients with basal ganglia
disorders to adjust their behavior to situational demands. Normalization of the
cholinergic modulation of cortico-striatal synaptic plasticity may be considered
as a critical feature in future treatments of basal ganglia disorders.

© 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

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