Striatum

Recent articles

Research image of human thalamus.

Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex

The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.

By Holly Barker
11 December 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of mouse brain slices.

Some dopamine neurons signal default behaviors to reinforce habits

Movement-sensing neurons that target the striatum influence a mouse’s choice of action by favoring routine.

By Holly Barker
11 June 2025 | 4 min read
Research image showing resting-state functional connectivity in the human red nucleus.

‘Ancient’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control

The human red nucleus may also help coordinate action, reward and motivated behavior, a new study suggests.

By Sydney Wyatt
16 May 2025 | 5 min read
Child playing with blocks.

Structure of striatum varies by sex in autistic children

The changes could reflect different developmental trajectories between boys and girls with autism, a new study suggests.

By Holly Barker
27 February 2025 | 4 min read
Research image of circuits emerging from striosomes in the striatum.

Newly characterized striatal circuits add twist to ‘go/no-go’ model of movement control

The two novel pathways control dopamine release in opposing ways and may link motivation and mood to action, a new study shows.

By Claudia López Lloreda
24 January 2025 | 4 min read
Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.

Reconstructing dopamine’s link to reward

The field is grappling with whether to modify the long-standing theory of reward prediction error—or abandon it entirely.

By Angie Voyles Askham
13 September 2024 | 18 min read
Research image of neurons in mice.

Skewed signaling in striatum may spawn repetitive behaviors

Synaptic changes in the brain region could drive a core trait of fragile X syndrome, a new mouse study suggests.

By Holly Barker
6 September 2023 | 3 min read
Research image of neurons.

Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice

Knocking down the gene that codes for the proteins normalizes the vocalizations.

By Laura Dattaro, Maaisha Osman
28 July 2023 | 3 min read

Autism’s ties to the cell skeleton

Many genes related to the condition play a role in the internal scaffolding of cells, and cytoskeletal disruptions can affect neurodevelopment and behavior.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
22 June 2023 | 7 min read
Composite image of inhibitory and excitatory neurons.

One-rosette technique grows well-organized organoids

The method yields complex organoids that more closely mimic embryonic brain development than do those cultured in other ways.

By Peter Hess
2 December 2022 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

A blue comment bubble is pinned down by crisscrossing red threads and pins.

Neuroscience conference policy draws confusion, apology

NeurIPS organizers apologized and altered course after issuing a policy that barred submissions from researchers at U.S.-government-sanctioned institutions.

By Dalmeet Singh Chawla
27 March 2026 | 5 min read
Assembloids in a petri dish.

Funding for animal research alternatives reaches ‘inflection point’

The United States and Europe are dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to advance novel alternative methods, but not all neuroscientists see this as a positive step.

By Claudia López Lloreda
26 March 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of a laptop computer superimposed over a scroll.

‘Friction-maxxing’ in school: Students should read primary literature, not AI summaries

Trainees need to learn how to identify a neuroscience paper’s major takeaways and integrate them into their understanding. This skill doesn’t come from outsourcing the work to large language models.

By Nora Bradford
26 March 2026 | 5 min read