Simultaneous spiking activity and local field potential (LFP) recordings from motor cortex (M1) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) during learning of a reach-to grasp task.Deposited data include spiking activity and LFP recordings, reaching trajectories, andi single-trial success data for the 8 animals included in the paper "Information flow between motor cortex and striatum reverses during skill learning".

Simultaneous spiking activity and local field potential (LFP) recordings from motor cortex (M1) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) during learning of a reach-to grasp task.Deposited data include spiking activity and LFP recordings, reaching trajectories, andi single-trial success data for the 8 animals included in the paper "Information flow between motor cortex and striatum reverses during skill learning".

The strength of cortical connectivity to the striatum influences the balance between behavioral variability and stability. Learning to consistently produce a skilled action requires plasticity in corticostriatal connectivity associated with repeated training of the action. However, it remains unknown whether such corticostriatal plasticity occurs during training itself or “offline” during time away from training, such as sleep. Here, we monitor the corticostriatal network throughout long-term skill learning in rats and find that non-REM (NREM) sleep is a relevant period for corticostriatal plasticity. We first show that the offline activation of striatal NMDA receptors is required for skill learning. We then show that corticostriatal functional connectivity increases offline, coupled to emerging consistent skilled movements and coupled cross-area neural dynamics. We then identify NREM sleep spindles as uniquely poised to mediate corticostriatal plasticity, through interactions with slow oscillations. Our results provide evidence that sleep shapes cross-area coupling required for skill learning.