MINI REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Neurosci.
Sec. Cellular Neurophysiology
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Cellular Subtypes in Striatal ActivityView all 7 articles
From Balance to Breakdown: Striatal PV Interneurons in Huntington's Disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Nîmes, Nîmes, France
- 2University College Cork APC Microbiome Institute, Cork, Ireland
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Once relegated to the background of striatal circuitry, parvalbumin-expressing interneurons are now emerging as central players in health and disease. Acting as true gatekeepers, striatal PV interneurons are well-described for their role in synchronizing striatal output and balancing excitation and inhibition to sustain coordinated motor and cognitive functions. In this review, we highlight recent advances in understanding their developmental origins, molecular identity, physiological properties, and their roles in striatal function. Furthermore, we examine converging evidence implicating PV interneurons in Huntington's disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder, where their structural, molecular, and functional alterations position them at the intersection of neurodegenerative and psychiatric research.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorders, GABA, Huntington's disease, Parvalbumin interneuron, Striatum
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 22 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Galvan and Thabault. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laurie Galvan
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