Fig. 2: Distinct functional properties of mPFC output pathways.

a Synaptic input from mPFC to reciprocally-connected thalamic relay neurons and striatal medium spiny neurons. Bottom: Digital reconstruction of recorded neurons. Scale 100 µm. b Top: Example PSCs after Chronos activation (blue squares). Gray trace: individual sweeps; solid trace: median. Protocol: 5 pulses, 10 Hz, 1 ms. Bottom: Summary plot of paired-pulse ratios. MDL: χ²[4] = 62.44, p < 0.0001. MDM: χ²[4] = 66.57, p < 0.0001. Post hoc: PSC₁ vs. PSC_3–5, MDL: p = 0.0002, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, MDM: p = 0.0003, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001p. c Same as a, for striatal neurons. d Same as b, for striatal neurons. DMS: χ²[4] = 15.70, p = 0.0035; VMS: χ² [4] = 44.90, p < 0.0001, Post hoc: VMS, PSC₁ vs. PSC_3–5, p = 0.0206, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001; VMS vs. DMS, stim_2–5, p = 0.0113, p = 0.0484, p = 0.0113, p = 0.0133. e Input resistance (R_input). Left: example traces. Right: summary plot. p_MDL-MDM = 0.0005. f Membrane time constant (Tau). p_MDL-MDM = 0.0120. g Input resistance, striatal neurons. h Membrane time constant. striatal neurons. i Action potential firing profiles, 0–200 pA current steps. Left: example traces. Burst, 50 ms after the first spike, Steady-state, last 200 ms of the pulse. Right: Summary plot (burst). MDL_Burst: χ²[4] = 36.95, p < 0.0001, MDM_Burst: χ²[4] = 47.32, p < 0.0001; MDM_SteadyState: χ²[4] = 30.01, p < 0.0001; Post hoc, 150 pA: p_MDL-MDM = 0.0192, 200 pA: p_MDL-MDM = 0.0192. j Same as i, for striatal neurons. DMS: χ²[4] = 44.39, p < 0.0001, VMS: χ²[4] = 69.54, p < 0.0001. Data in b, d, e, f, g, i and j are mean ± SEM. Boxplots: center line, median; edges, 1st and 3rd quartile; whiskers, range without outliers. Mann–Whitney tests in d, e, f, and h were two-sided. Friedman with Dunn’s was used in b, d, i, and j. Significance: *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001. Group sizes: MDM (n = 18 cells, 6 rats), MDL (n = 19 cells, 7 rats), VMS (n = 21 cells, 6 rats), DMS (n = 23 cells, 7 rats).