Transient striatal c local ¢eld potentials signal movement initiation in rats

Transient coherent neural oscillations, as indicated by local ¢eld potentials, are thought to underlie key perceptual and cognitive events.We report a transient, state-dependent 50Hz oscillation recorded from electrodes placed in the striatum of awake, behaving rats. These coherent oscillations, which we term g50, occurred in brief (150ms) events co-incident with the initiation of movement. On navigation tasks, the animal’s speed increased dramatically at the precisemoment of the g50 event.This synchronous oscillation may provide a key to understanding striatal function, as well as basal ganglia pathology, which often impairs the control of voluntary movements. NeuroReport 16:2021^2024 c 2005 LippincottWilliams &Wilkins.