The basal ganglia: learning new tricks and loving it.
The field of basal ganglia research is exploding on every level - from discoveries at the molecular level to those based on human brain imaging. A remarkable series of new findings support the view that the basal ganglia are essential for some forms of learning-related plasticity. Other new findings are challenging some of the basic tenets of the field as it now stands. Combined with the new evidence on learning-related functions of the basal ganglia, these studies suggest that the basal ganglia are parts of a brain-wide set of adaptive neural systems promoting optimal motor and cognitive control.
Graybiel
Ann M
AM
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, 46-6133, Cambridge, MA, 02139 USA. graybiel@mit.edu
D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology