Cortico-basal ganglia circuits underlying dysfunctional control of motor behaviors in neuropsychiatric disorders

Abstract

Neuropsychiatric disorders often manifest with abnormal control of motor behavior. Common symptoms include restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior (RRBs). Cortico-basal ganglia circuits have been implicated in the etiology of RBBs. However, there is a vast range of behaviors encompassed in RRBs, from simple explosive motor tics to rather complex ritualized compulsions. In this review, we highlight how recent findings about the function of specific basal ganglia circuits can begin to shed light into defined motor symptoms associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. We discuss recent studies using genetic animal models that advocate that different aspects of motor repetition in neurodevelopmental disorders, like obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorder, emerge from particular dysregulations in distinct cortico-basal ganglia circuits.

Figure 1:

Diagram of cortico-basal ganglia circuitry

Figure 2:

Model of basal ganglia circuitry in ASD with an imbalance favoring the direct versus the indirect pathway in dorsal striatum.