The mammalian striatum has been identified as a critihttps://cervo.ulaval.ca/evenement/jared-smith/cal node for behavioral control and learning. As the major input nucleus for the basal ganglia, the striatum receives inputs from every area of the neocortex, a variety of thalamic nuclei, several parts of the amygdala and most notably midbrain dopaminergic regions (VTA & SNc). Over the last twenty years, my research has focused on mapping and characterizing nigro-striatal, thalamo-striatal, and cortico-striatal projections that convey sensory and motor information in support of associative learning across an array of mammalian species. These neuroanatomical studies employing both traditional and modern viral methods have revealed organizational principles that emphasize convergence of the limbic, motor and sensory domains, in contrast to the parallel, segregated loop architecture that is historically emphasized. More recently, utilizing in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiology as well as in vivo neuronal imaging techniques in sensory and motor operant conditioning tasks, we have begun to reveal underlying mechanisms by which the striatum and its myriad inputs support associative learning. In a recently published study, we explore how auditory sensory responses emerge in striatum gradually throughout training, via a dynamic interplay of synaptic changes on medium spiny neurons. Finally, I will share unpublished data demonstrating a dynamic process by which nigral, thalamic and cortical inputs are serially recruited to manipulate both the direct and indirect pathways to enable motor sequence learning; akin to learning to play the piano. Together, these data suggest new hypotheses on the organization of the striatum and its role in regulating how mammals learn.