Cited by 1,042Memory and Neural MechanismsMotor Control and AdaptationNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

The Basal Ganglia and Chunking of Action Repertoires

Graybiel, Ann M.·1998·Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Abstract

The basal ganglia have been shown to contribute to habit and stimulus-response (S-R) learning. These forms of learning have the property of slow acquisition and, in humans, can occur without conscious awareness. This paper proposes that one aspect of basal ganglia-based learning is the recoding of cortically derived information within the striatum. Modular corticostriatal projection patterns, demonstrated experimentally, are viewed as producing recoded templates suitable for the gradual selection of new input-output relations in cortico-basal ganglia loops. Recordings from striatal projection neurons and interneurons show that activity patterns in the striatum are modified gradually during the course of S-R learning. It is proposed that this recoding within the striatum can chunk the representations of motor and cognitive action sequences so that they can be implemented as performance units. This scheme generalizes Miller's notion of information chunking to action control. The formation and the efficient implementation of action chunks are viewed as being based on predictive signals. It is suggested that information chunking provides a mechanism for the acquisition and the expression of action repertoires that, without such information compression would be biologically unwieldy or difficult to implement. The learning and memory functions of the basal ganglia are thus seen as core features of the basal ganglia's influence on motor and cognitive pattern generators.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1006/nlme.1998.3843

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99 of 99 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The basal ganglia are important for chunking action sequences.

    “It has been suggested that the basal ganglia are important for chunking action sequences (Graybiel, 1998).”

    From The Neural Correlates of Motor Skill Automaticity (2005) · cites this paper as Graybiel, 1998

  • Decreased activity in the basal ganglia may reflect a more effective (chunked) representation that accompanies automatization.

    “Thus, decreased activity in the basal ganglia may reflect a more effective (chunked) representation that accompanies automatization.”

    From The Neural Correlates of Motor Skill Automaticity (2005) · cites this paper as Graybiel, 1998

  • Stimulus-response or habit learning appears to be mediated, in part, by the dorsolateral striatum (or the putamen).

    “This learning process appears to be mediated, in part, by the dorsolateral striatum (or the putamen) (Knowlton et al., 1996; White, 1997; Graybiel, 1998; Hikosaka, 1998; Yin and Knowlton, 2006).”

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Authors
Graybiel, A. M.
Affiliations
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author
Graybiel, Ann M.
Venue
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1998-07
Volume
70
Issue
1-2
Pages
119-136
ISSN
1074-7427 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2148201341
Cited by
1,042
References
103
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 43 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 37 · 2012: 84
FWCI
8.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (R03 MH57878, R01 NS25529)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
basal ganglia, striatum, repertoires of action, habit learning, stimulus-response learning, corticostriatal projections, striatal projection neurons, striatal interneurons, predictive signals
MeSH terms
Animals, Basal Ganglia, Brain Mapping, Corpus Striatum, Habits, Humans, Learning, Memory, Models, Neurological, Nerve Net, Synaptic Transmission, Neuronal Plasticity, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Parkinson Disease, Neocortex, In Vitro Techniques

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