- Basal Ganglia structures receives information from cerebral cortex, relays their output back to cortex in order to coordinate movement
- Deterioration to basal ganglia has resulted in diseases including Parkinson's and Huntington's disease
- Basal ganglia especially important in coordinating movements in relation to memories, rather than sensory stimuli
- Also useful in learning various motor-related skills

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- Involved in coordinating the initiation, direction, and amplitude of a movement
- Works with motor cortex to start/stop movements 
- Made up of forebrain nuclei (nuclei: collection of neurons), including caudate nucleus and putamen (known as striatum), and globus pallidus 
- The substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus are also closely associated with this region


Basal Ganglia 

- Caused by degradation of cells containing dopamine that project on basal ganglia cells 
- Symptoms include tremors during periods of stagnation, loss of facial muscle tone, rigid muscles, and decreased voluntary movement
- Disease usually not inherited, but there are some defective genes that can be inherited, including a-synuclein (protein normally found in basal ganglia cells) and parkin

Parkinson's Disease

- Caused by twitching of hands/ face, involuntary movement of entire body (including "jerking" of body), and behavioral issues (depression, decreased intellectual capabilities)
- Caused by continual degradation of basal ganglia (neural) cells, and its associated structures (including caudate nucleus and putamen)
- Disease is inherited by family members, caused by mutation on a gene on chromosome 4 
- This is a dominant mutation, meaning only 1 mutated gene is required

Huntington's Disease

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

Basal Ganglia and Movement

- Substantia Nigra: brainstem structure, neurons communicate with basal ganglia 

Substantia Nigra 

- Subthalamic nucleus: nuclei (nerves) ventral (below) the thalamus, which communicate with basal ganglia 

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