Summary: The basal ganglia are a group of subcortical nuclei that control several aspects of voluntary movement and the striatum is their primary region receiving information to be processed. The activity of neurons in the striatum is controlled by cells called interneurons. Postmortem studies from Tourette syndrome patients showed that one particular kind, the striatal cholinergic interneuron, is reduced in these patients. However, it is still unknown if the loss of cholinergic cells is responsible for Tourette´s symptoms. We will mimic this cell loss in rodents and explore whether the emerging behavioral symptoms are compatible with the ones of Tourette syndrome. Juan Emilio Belforte, Ph.D.; Mario Gustavo Murer, M.D., Ph.D. School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina Award: $120,000 Tourette Association of America Inc. – Research Grant Award 2015-2016