Complementary 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' approaches to basal ganglia function.
Recently, two quite different approaches exemplifying 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' philosophies have shed new light on basal ganglia function. In vitro work using organotypic co-cultures has implicated the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the external segment of the globus pallidus (GP(e)) as pacemakers for low-frequency bursting that is reminiscent of the activity produced in Parkinsonian tremor. A circuit essential for avian song learning has been identified as part of the basal ganglia with surprisingly well conserved cellular details; investigation of this system may help to address general issues of basal ganglia function.
Perkel
D J
DJ
Department of Neuroscience, 215 Stemmler Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6074, USA. perkel@u.washington.edu
Farries
M A
MA
D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D020308:Songbirds; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*