Basal ganglia network dynamics and function: Role of direct, indirect and hyper-direct pathways in action selection

ABSTRACT

Basal ganglia (BG) are a widely recognized neural basis for action selection, but its decision-making mechanism is still a difficult problem for researchers. Therefore, we constructed a spiking neural network inspired by the BG anatomical data. Simulation experiments were based on the principle of dis-inhibition and our functional hypothesis within the BG: the direct pathway, the indirect pathway, and the hyper-direct pathway of the BG jointly implement the initiation execution and termination of motor programs. Firstly, we studied the dynamic process of action selection with the network, which contained intra-group competition and inter-group competition. Secondly, we focused on the effects of the stimulus intensity and the proportion of excitation and inhibition on the GPi/SNr. The results suggested that inhibition and excitation shape action selection. They also explained why the firing rate of GPi/SNr did not continue to increase in the action-selection experiment. Finally, we discussed the experimental results with the functional hypothesis. Uniquely, this paper summarized the decision-making neural mechanism of action selection based on the direct pathway, the indirect pathway, and the hyper-direct pathway within BG.

KEYWORDS:

• Basal ganglia
• action selection
• pathway
• network

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 11572127 and 11872183). The authors would like to thank all the editors and reviewers who participated in the review.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [11572127,11872183].