What resolves this contention: If TAN pauses are driven equally by cortical and…

What resolves this contention: If TAN pauses are driven equally by cortical and thalamic afferents (Cell Rep 2019), the historical view of TAN pauses as a striatal echo of dopaminergic reward prediction error is hard to maintain. The PNAS 2024 study directly demonstrates this dissociation; older interpretations equating TAN pause with RPE need revision. / There is a mismatch between striatal cholinergic pauses and dopaminergic reward prediction errors. / Cholinergic transmission at muscarinic synapses in striatum is driven equally by cortical and thalamic inputs, suggesting parallel rather than RPE-locked drive.