The External Globus Pallidus is a Basal Ganglia Output Hub with Action-Specific Circuits
neurons are not engaged during locomotion but are selectively recruited during skilled forelimb actions, and their activation disrupts forelimb movements without affecting locomotion. Together, these findings establish the GPe as a basal ganglia output hub composed of modules that mediate distinct behaviors. This organization revises canonical models of the indirect pathway by demonstrating that D2-MSNs can also facilitate, rather than only suppress, movement depending on the downstream GPe output channels they engage.
Authors
- Amy Torkelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9465-4202)
- Darcy S. Peterka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7351-5820)
- Christine Rimorin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1491-8552)
- Jeff Goldy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5140-6922)
- Michael Tieu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9286-5623)
- Staci A. Sorensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6799-2126)
- Laudan Nikoobakht
- Shenqin Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2992-4752)
- Zirong Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8262-7573)
- Zachary Lewis
- Rui M. Costa
- Emma D. Thomas
- Katie Fancher
- Matt Mallory
- Darren Bertagnolli
- Jonathan Tang
- Sofia Rosenberg
- Luke A. Hammond
- Alana Mendelsohn
- Arena Manning
- Ana M. Vicente
- Vitor Paixao
- Mihir S. Tirumalasetti
- Amir Khalili
- Anish Bhaswanth Chakka
- Trangthanh Cardenas
- Hongkui Zeng
- Ghada A. Abuagala
- Ananya Chakravarth
- Bosiljka Tasic
- Kimberly A. Smith
Institutions
- Champalimaud Foundation (PT)
- The University of Texas at Dallas (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Norcliffe Foundation (US)
- CTI BioPharma (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Allen Institute (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Columbia University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-04-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.12.718022
- Primary Topic
- Neurological disorders and treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00