Role of the Striatum in Learning and Memory

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is to analyze the involvement of separate striatal areas in different aspects of learning and memory. The striatum is a collection of forebrain structures that include the caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercule, and globus pallidus. These areas are named striatum because of the numerous fibers coursing through these structures that give the areas a striped appearance. The early experimentation to study the role of striatum in controlling the motor behavior led to two important developments. First, the empirical findings resulted from investigating the striatum in learning and memory led to initial proposals of the role striatum plays in mnemonic processing. The empirical findings come mainly from studies in rats as well as some studies in nonhuman primates. Subsequent to these investigations, the concept of multiple memory systems emerged influenced on understanding the neurobiology of learning and memory. The dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmitter systems are two commonly investigated criterions for this. Thus, to further understand the role of the striatum in learning and memory, experiments that investigate dopamine and cholinergic actions in the striatum are also discussed. The discussion in this chapter is based primarily on experiments investigating the caudate-putamen complex in learning and memory. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.