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Goal-directed and habitual control in the basal ganglia: implications for Parkinson's disease
(Nature Publishing Group, 2010-11) Smith, Y. (Yoland); DeLong, M.R. (Mahlon R.); Agid, Y. (Yves); Obeso, J.A. (José A.); Rodriguez-Diaz, M. (Manuel); Redgrave, P. (Peter); Bergman, H. (Hagai); Lehericy, S. (Stephane); Rodriguez-Oroz, M.C. (María Cruz)
Progressive loss of the ascending dopaminergic projection in the basal ganglia is a fundamental pathological feature of Parkinson's disease. Studies in animals and humans have identified spatially segregated functional territories in the basal ganglia for the control of goal-directed and habitual actions. In patients with Parkinson's disease the loss of dopamine is predominantly in the posterior putamen, a region of the basal ganglia associated with the control of habitual behaviour. These patients may therefore be forced into a progressive reliance on the goal-directed mode of action control that is mediated by comparatively preserved processing in the rostromedial striatum. Thus, many of their behavioural difficulties may reflect a loss of normal automatic control owing to distorting output signals from habitual control circuits, which impede the expression of goal-directed action.