Motor skill learning depends on protein synthesis in the dorsal striatum after training

Functional imaging studies in humans and electrophysiological data in animals suggest that corticostriatal circuits undergo plastic modifications during motor skill learning. In motor cortex and hippocampus circuit plasticity can be prevented by protein synthesis inhibition (PSI) which can interfere with certain forms learning. Here, the hypothesis was tested that inducing PSI in the dorsal striatum by bilateral intrastriatal injection of anisomycin (ANI) in rats interferes with learning a precision forelimb reaching task. Injecting ANI shortly after training on days 1 and 2 during 4 days of daily practice (n = 14) led to a significant impairment of motor skill learning as compared with vehicle-injected controls (n = 15, P = 0.033). ANI did not affect the animals’ motivation as measured by intertrial latencies. Also, ANI did not affect reaching performance once learning was completed and performance reached a plateau. These findings demonstrate that PSI in the dorsal striatum after training impairs the acquisition of a novel motor skill. The results support the notion that plasticity in basal ganglia circuits, mediated by protein synthesis, contributes to motor skill learning.