A role for the dorsolateral striatum in prospective action control

Highlights•Inhibition of the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) results in perseverative behavior•This perseverative behavior is habit-like and occurs in multiple task changes•DLS inhibition can both decrease and increase speed depending on the task changesSummaryThe dorsolateral striatum (DLS) is important for performing actions persistently, even when it becomes suboptimal, reflecting a function that is reflexive and habitual. However, there are also ways in which persistent behaviors can result from a more prospective, planning mode of behavior. To help tease apart these possibilities for DLS function, we trained animals to perform a lever press for reward and then inhibited the DLS in key test phases: as the task shifted from a 1-press to a 3-press rule (upshift), as the task was maintained, as the task shifted back to the one-press rule (downshift), and when rewards came independent of pressing. During DLS inhibition, animals always favored their initially learned strategy to press just once, particularly so during the free-reward period. DLS inhibition surprisingly changed performance speed bidirectionally depending on the task shifts. DLS inhibition thus encouraged habitual behavior, suggesting it could normally help adapt to changing conditions.Graphical abstract