Hi there Nair

I would be focussing on glutamate - there are two functionally different glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems from the central lateral and parafascicular nuclei. The work of Yoland Smith and Paul Bolam is a good place to start.  Good luck!!

Suggested starting Refs: 

Front Syst Neurosci. 2014 Jan 30;8:5. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00005. eCollection 2014.

The thalamostriatal system in normal and diseased states.

Smith Y1, Galvan A1, Ellender TJ2, Doig N2, Villalba RM3, Huerta-Ocampo I2, Wichmann T1, Bolam JP2.

AND:

Ellender, T.J., Harwood, J., Kosillo, P., Capogna, M., & Bolam, J.P. Heterogeneous properties of central lateral and parafascicular thalamic synapses in the striatum. J Physiol  591: 257-72 (2013).

Thanks John!

On a side note, you may be interested to know that excitatory (Glu) inputs from the Pf nuclei have been found to drive activity of cholinergic interneurons in the striatum (Bradfield et al., Neuron 2013 from Bernard Balleine's group).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089662731300370X

Merci Mathieu!