An anatomical hotspot for striatal dopamine-acetylcholine interactions during reward and movement
Output Details
Description
Dopamine and acetylcholine work together to regulate movement and learning, but it has been unclear whether their interactions are organized across different brain regions. Using large-scale recordings in behaving mice, we measured dopamine and acetylcholine release across the striatum. We identified a specific hotspot in the anterior dorsolateral striatum where dopamine consistently preceded and suppressed acetylcholine during reward processing, learning, and movement. This regional specificity was explained in part by stronger dopamine D2 receptor–mediated inhibition in this area. These findings show that dopamine–acetylcholine interactions are spatially specialized, providing insight into brain mechanisms relevant to movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Identifier (DOI)
10.64898/2026.01.20.700614
