The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans

Basal ganglia dysfunction causes profound movement disorders, often attributed to imbalance between direct and indirect pathway activity in the sensorimotor basal ganglia. In the classical view, the direct pathway facilitates movements, whereas the indirect pathway inhibits movements. However, the r...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Eun Jung eHwang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2013-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Neural Circuits
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncir.2013.00121/full
_version_ 1818993527205396480
author Eun Jung eHwang
author_facet Eun Jung eHwang
author_sort Eun Jung eHwang
collection DOAJ
description Basal ganglia dysfunction causes profound movement disorders, often attributed to imbalance between direct and indirect pathway activity in the sensorimotor basal ganglia. In the classical view, the direct pathway facilitates movements, whereas the indirect pathway inhibits movements. However, the recent finding of co-activation of the two pathways during movement challenges this view. Reconciling the new finding with the body of evidence supporting the classical view, this perspective proposes that the direct pathway computes the expected benefits of motor plans entering the basal ganglia, while the indirect pathway computes their expected costs. Thus, basal ganglia output combining the two pathway signals in a subtractive manner weighs benefits against costs, and endorses the plan with the best prospective outcome via feedback projections to the cortex. The cost-benefit model, while retaining the antagonistic roles of the two pathways for movements, requires co-activation of the two pathways during movement as both benefit and cost are computed for every movement. The cost-benefit model, though simple, accounts for a number of confounding results, and generates new focus for future research with testable predictions.
first_indexed 2024-12-20T20:43:28Z
format Article
id doaj.art-74c73632f41e4a76837ab6c1958ade8d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1662-5110
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-20T20:43:28Z
publishDate 2013-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Neural Circuits
spelling doaj.art-74c73632f41e4a76837ab6c1958ade8d2022-12-21T19:27:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neural Circuits1662-51102013-07-01710.3389/fncir.2013.0012153053The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plansEun Jung eHwang0California Institute of TechnologyBasal ganglia dysfunction causes profound movement disorders, often attributed to imbalance between direct and indirect pathway activity in the sensorimotor basal ganglia. In the classical view, the direct pathway facilitates movements, whereas the indirect pathway inhibits movements. However, the recent finding of co-activation of the two pathways during movement challenges this view. Reconciling the new finding with the body of evidence supporting the classical view, this perspective proposes that the direct pathway computes the expected benefits of motor plans entering the basal ganglia, while the indirect pathway computes their expected costs. Thus, basal ganglia output combining the two pathway signals in a subtractive manner weighs benefits against costs, and endorses the plan with the best prospective outcome via feedback projections to the cortex. The cost-benefit model, while retaining the antagonistic roles of the two pathways for movements, requires co-activation of the two pathways during movement as both benefit and cost are computed for every movement. The cost-benefit model, though simple, accounts for a number of confounding results, and generates new focus for future research with testable predictions.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncir.2013.00121/fulldecision-makingRewardeffortoptimal controlaction-selectioncortico-basal ganglia loop
spellingShingle Eun Jung eHwang
The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
decision-making
Reward
effort
optimal control
action-selection
cortico-basal ganglia loop
title The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
title_full The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
title_fullStr The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
title_full_unstemmed The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
title_short The basal ganglia, the ideal machinery for the cost-benefit analysis of action plans
title_sort basal ganglia the ideal machinery for the cost benefit analysis of action plans
topic decision-making
Reward
effort
optimal control
action-selection
cortico-basal ganglia loop
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncir.2013.00121/full
work_keys_str_mv AT eunjungehwang thebasalgangliatheidealmachineryforthecostbenefitanalysisofactionplans
AT eunjungehwang basalgangliatheidealmachineryforthecostbenefitanalysisofactionplans