Network of the Basal Ganglia
Published: 13.07.2015
Published: 13.07.2015

The basal ganglia process motor information via complex control loops. The striatum, consisting of the caudate nucleus and putamen, processes stimuli from the cortex into inhibitory signals to the substantia nigra and pallidum. The substantia nigra immediately sends inhibitory signals back to the striatum, thereby inhibiting its inhibitory power. The pallidum inhibits the thalamus and subthalamus. The subthalamus, in turn, excites the pallidum, thereby amplifying its inhibitory signals. Finally, the thalamus transmits the result of this complex interconnection to the cortex as a finely modulated motor signal.
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