title: The basal ganglia: anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology.
abstract: The basal ganglia are perceived as important nodes in cortico-subcortical networks involved in the transfer, convergence, and processing of information in motor, cognitive, and limbic domains. How this integration might occur remains a matter of some debate, particularly given the consistent finding in anatomic and physiologic studies of functional segregation in cortico-subcortical loops. More recent theories, however, have raised the notion that modality-specific information might be integrated not spatially, but rather temporally, by coincident processing in discrete neuronal populations. Basal ganglia neurotransmitters, given their diverse roles in motor performance, learning, working memory, and reward-related activity are also likely to play an important role in the integration of cerebral activity. Further work will elucidate this to a greater extent, but for now, it is clear that the basal ganglia form an important nexus in the binding of cognitive, limbic, and motor information into thought and action.
authors.affiliation: Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience & Movement Disorders Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tisch
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Silberstein
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Limousin-Dowsey
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jahanshahi
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012146:Rest; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000109:Acetylcholine