Striatal somatotopy and motor responses evoked by acute electrical stimulation of the posterior striatum in rats.

Introduction/objectives: Previous experiments suggest that the striatal sensorimotor territory in rats is located in its dorsolateral region, along the rostrocaudal axis, unlike what has been observed in primates. In the present study, electrical stimulation was performed to investigate the degree of participation of the posterior striatum in its motor territory, its somatotopic organization, and the motor responses evoked by stimulation.

Methods: Twenty-five rats were submitted to stereotactic stimulation of the posterior striatum under general anesthesia, receiving consecutively four different current intensities.