[The cholinergic system of the striatum: its participation in the motor and sensory components of motor behavior].

This review deals with the recent data on participation of the dorsal striatum cholinergic system in orientation behavior and in regulation of attention to significant stimuli, which was realized via the range of subcortical structures, among them the intralaminar thalamic nuclei (CM-Pf) and pedunculopontine nuclei (PPN) play an especially important role. On the basis of our own experimental data it was suggested that by using an adequate pharmacological effects upon striatal cholinergic system, it was possible to change the sensory and motor components of movement behavior. Whereas the unilateral microinjections of cholinergic receptor agonists lead to behavioral changes only on the day of injection, the bilateral injections change the formed type of the movement behavior for a long time. An important role of the dorsal striatal cholinergic system in switching and modulation of the indirect efferent pathway was substantiated. By this mechanism, inhibition of nonspecific sensory afferentation at different subcortical levels and an increase of significant sensory signals can take place. A manifestation of this mechanism can be the sharp improvements of differentiation of sensory stimuli after activation of the striatal cholinergic system. On the other hand, the cholinergic striatal limitation of movement activity (a decrease of locomotion, an increase of tonic component of movement and streamlining of posture) may be the important factors for making a decision in a difficult situation.