Schizophrenia-associated 22q11.2 deletion elevates striatal acetylcholine and disrupts thalamostriatal projections to produce amotivation in mice

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction, hallucinations, and negative symptoms such as amotivation. Negative symptoms are largely resistant to current antipsychotic treatments, and the neural circuits underlying amotivational states remain poorly defined. Here, using a mouse model of schizophrenia-associated 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), we report amotivation and weakened glutamatergic synaptic transmission between the thalamic parafascicular nucleus (Pf) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). Thalamostriatal disruption is attributed to hyperactivity of striatal cholinergic interneurons (CHIs), which is associated with enhanced Trpc3 and Pex51 (Trip8b) gene expression. Elevated acetylcholine levels in the DMS act on presynaptic M2 muscarinic receptors to weaken Pf-DMS glutamatergic transmission. Importantly, disruption of Pf-DMS synaptic transmission or hyperactivation of CHIs are each sufficient to cause amotivation in wild-type mice. These results identify a striatal hypercholinergic state and subsequent thalamostriatal disruption as core pathogenic events causing amotivation in 22q11DS, providing potential therapeutic targets.