Brain State-Dependence of Coherent Oscillatory Activity along the Cortico-Striatal Axis of the Rat

Anatomically and physiologically, the cerebral cortex is tightly linked to the striatum, which is the head-end of cortico-basal ganglia circuits. However, the nature of cortico-striatal interactions is poorly understood. To assess the coupling between neuronal assemblies in the cerebral cortex and the striatum, we recorded single unit activity (SUA) and local field potentials (LFP) in healthy, halothane-anesthetized rats. To this end, we employed a bihemispherical multi-site approach with eight microelectrodes in the striatum together with simultaneous recordings of electro-corticographic activity (EcoG). EcoG s…