A surprising pathway that lets the striatum talk directly to the auditory cortex

by Alice Bertero and Alfonso j. Apicella

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

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For decades, neuroscientists have thought about communication between the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia in a fairly linear way. The cortex sends information into the basal ganglia, where that information is processed forward through circuits involved in movement, learning and decision-making. Signals can eventually return to the cortex indirectly through well-established pathways involving other brain regions.

But what if the striatum, the major input structure of the basal ganglia, could also communicate much more directly with the cortex?

That question became especially interesting to us while studying how the brain changes the way it processes sounds according to experience and behavioral relevance.

In our recent study published in Nature Communications, Dr. Alice Bertero and I identified a previously unrecognized cholinergic pathway connecting the dorsal tail of the striatum directly to the auditory cortex.

To me, the most exciting aspect of this finding is not simply that we found another anatomical connection. It suggests that the relationship between the sensory cortex and the basal ganglia may be more reciprocal than we previously appreciated.

Hearing is not a passive process

We often think of hearing as a relatively straightforward process: Sound enters the ear, travels through the auditory system and eventually reaches the auditory cortex, where neurons represent features such as frequency and intensity.

But the brain does much more than simply detect sounds.

The same sound can be meaningless in one situation and critically important in another. A tone might be ignored hundreds of times yet becomes extremely important after it predicts danger, reward or the need to take a particular action.

This means that auditory processing must somehow be influenced by what an animal has learned and by what is behaviorally important at that moment.

The dorsal tail of the striatum is particularly interesting in this context because it receives substantial sensory information, including information from auditory areas, and participates in linking sensory events with behavior.

We therefore asked whether neurons in this part of the striatum might also send information back to the auditory cortex.

What we found was surprising and very robust.

A cholinergic route back to the cortex

Using anatomical approaches, we identified neurons in the dorsal tail of the striatum that contain acetylcholine and send long-range axons into the auditory cortex.

Acetylcholine is an important chemical messenger throughout the brain. It can alter neuronal responsiveness, influence attention and contribute to learning and plasticity.

Cholinergic neurons within the striatum have traditionally been viewed mainly as local regulators. Their elaborate processes influence neighboring striatal circuits and help shape how the basal ganglia process information.

Our results show that at least some of these neurons do something quite different: They extend their influence well beyond the striatum.

We then wanted to know whether these long-range fibers actually communicate with neurons in the auditory cortex and, if so, how.

To test this, we used techniques that allowed us to selectively activate the cholinergic projection while recording the electrical responses of cortical neurons. When we activated these fibers, auditory cortical neurons responded.

Importantly, the effect was particularly prominent in deeper cortical layers, with strong responses in the deep layers of the cortex. We also found that much of this signaling depended on a particular class of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors containing α4β2 receptor subunits.

Together, these experiments showed us that this is not simply an anatomical pathway. It is a functional communication channel through which striatal cholinergic neurons can directly influence auditory cortical circuits.

Rethinking the conversation between cortex and basal ganglia

I like to think about this finding as revealing another channel in a conversation.

The cortex is constantly sending information to the striatum. Traditionally, we have thought of the return conversation as traveling primarily through the classic basal ganglia output pathways before eventually influencing cortical activity.

Our results reveal a different possibility: Specialized striatal neurons can also send a direct neuromodulatory message back to the cortex.

That does not replace the classical organization of basal ganglia circuits. Instead, it adds another layer to it. And that additional layer may be particularly important for understanding how sensory representations change with experience.

Imagine hearing a sound that initially has no particular meaning. After repeated experience, that same sound might signal danger, predict a reward or indicate that an action is required. The auditory cortex must somehow adjust its processing so that behaviorally important sounds are represented differently from irrelevant ones.

One possibility we are now interested in is that this striatal-to-cortical cholinergic pathway contributes to that adjustment.

Because the striatum is deeply involved in learning the relationship between sensory events and actions, it is well positioned to send information back to the sensory cortex about what those sounds have come to mean.

A broader view of sensory processing

Our work raises several new questions.

When is this pathway active during behavior? Does its activity change as an animal learns that a particular sound has become important? Can it modify the way auditory cortical neurons represent that sound? And could similar long-range pathways operate in other sensory systems?

Those questions will require additional experiments. But the broader idea is already compelling to me: sensory cortex should not be viewed simply as the final destination of incoming sensory information.

What we hear is continuously shaped by experience, attention, learning and behavior. Understanding perception therefore requires understanding not only how sensory information enters the cortex but also how signals from brain systems involved in learning and action travel back to modify cortical processing.

Our discovery of a direct cholinergic pathway from the dorsal striatum to the auditory cortex provides one new piece of that puzzle.

The striatum, it seems, does not simply listen to the cortex.

It can talk back.

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Publication details

Alice Bertero et al, A non-canonical cholinergic pathway from the dorsal tail of the striatum to the auditory cortex, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72939-y

Journal information: Nature Communications

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Neurology Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

Alfonso j. Apicella, Ph.D., is Professor of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. His research focuses on the neural basis of perception and on understanding how cortical microcircuits and long-range neural pathways process sensory information to guide behavior. His laboratory combines cellular and systems neuroscience approaches to investigate the circuit mechanisms underlying sensory processing, perception, and behavioral decisions.

Alice Bertero, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on the neural circuit mechanisms that shape sensory processing and cortical function, with particular interest in how long-range neuromodulatory pathways influence neuronal activity. She combines anatomical, electrophysiological, and circuit-based approaches to investigate how interactions between subcortical a

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