Basal ganglia
Aashish Nepal
Introduction
• The basal ganglia(BG) form a subcortical structures (collection of masses of gray
matter) made up of :
• Corpus striatum (caudate nucleus + lentiform nucleus)
• Lentiform nucleus (globus pallidus + putamen)
• Claustrum
• Caudate and putamen are sometimes collectively referred as neostriatum.
• The nuclei of the basal ganglia influence the motor planning areas of the cerebral
cortex through various motor circuits.
• Primary responsibilities of the basal ganglia include the regulation of posture and
muscle tone and the control of volitional and automatic movement. In addition to the
caudate and putamen’s role in motor control, the caudate nucleus is involved in
cognitive functions.
Corpus striatum
• Situated lateral to the thalamus
• Divided into caudate nucleus and
lentiform nucleus by internal capsule.
CAUDATE NUCLEUS
divided into head, body and tail
• C-shaped mass of gray matter, closely related to lateral ventricle, with internal
capsule laterally.
• Head is continuous inferiorly with putamen of lentiform nucleus, forming
neostriatum. The connection is formed by strands of gray matter giving a
striated appearance, thus the term corpus striatum.
• Body is long and continuous with head along interventricular foramen and
forms part of floor of lateral ventricle.
• Tail is continuous with the body in the region of posterior thalamus,
terminating anteriorly in the amygdaloid nucleus.
LENTIFORM NUCLEUS
• Wedge shaped mass of gray matter buried deep in white matter of cortex and
related medially to internal capsule.
• Lentiform nucleus is separated from claustrum by a thin sheet of white matter
called external capsule.
• A vertical plate of white matter divides the nucleus into darker lateral and lighter
medial portions viz. putamen and globus pallidus.
• The paleness/ lighter appearance of globus pallidus is due to high concentration of
myelinated nerve fibers.
• The globus pallidus appears as a single neural mass, but can be divided into two
functionally distinct parts, called the internal (or medial) and external (lateral)
segments, abbreviated GPi and GPe. Both segments contain primarily GABAergic
neurons, which therefore have inhibitory effects on their targets.
• The putamen is continuous with head of caudate nucleus (neostriatum)
AMYGDALOID NUCLEUS
• Situated in temporal lobe, close to the uncus.
• Considered to be the part of limbic system.
• Can influence body’s response to environment through its
connections (eg. Change in heart rate, BP, skin color and rate of
respiration in response to fear)
CLAUSTRUM
• The claustrum is a thin sheet of gray matter that is separated from the lateral
surface of the lentiform nucleus by the external capsule.
SUBSTANTIA NIGRA (midbrain) AND SUBTHALAMIC NUCLEI
(diencephalon)
• Closely related to activities of basal nuclei.
• Neurons of substantia are dopaminergic and inhibitory and have many
connections to corpus striatum.
• Neurons of subthalamic nuclei are glutaminergic and excitatory and have
many connections to globus pallidus and substantia nigra.
CONNECTIONS
CORPUS STRIATUM AND GLOBUS PALLIDUS
• Neostriatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) form the main site for receiving input to
basal nuclei.
• Globus pallidus forms major site from which output leaves basal nuclei.
• AFFERENT: corticostriate, thalamostriate nigrostriatal and brainstem striatal fibers
• CORTICOSTRIATE: from all parts of cerebral cortex. Each part of cerebral cortex
projects to a specific part of caudate-putamen complex, usually from the same side.
Largest input is from sensory motor cortex. Glutamate is the neurotransmitter.
• THALAMOSTRIATE: from intralaminar nucleus of thalamus to caudate and putamen.
• NIGROSTRIATAL: from substantia nigra to caudate nucleus and putamen to liberate
dopamine at the terminals.
• BRAINSTEM STRIATAL: ascending fibers from brainstem liberate serotonin which are
inhibitory in function.
CONNECTIONS
CORPUS STRIATUM EFFERENT FIBERS:
• STRIATOPALLIDIAL: pass from caudate nucleus and putamen to globus pallidus. They have GABA as
the neurotransmitter.
• STRIATONIGRAL: pass to substantia nigra. Some fibers use GABA and ACh as neurotransmitters while
others use substance P.
GLOBUS PALLIDUS AFFERENT FIBERS
• Striatopallidial fibers
GLOBUS PALLIDUS EFFERENT FIBERS
Pallidofugal fibers
• ansa lenticularis (to thalamic nuclei)
• fasciculus lenticularis (to subthalamus)
• Pallidotegmental (to caudal tegmentum of midbrain)
• Pallidosubthalamic fibers (to subthalamic nuclei)
Functional divisions
• Corpus striatum is divided into
caudate and lentiform by internal
capsule. Functional zones van be
identified based upon afferent and
efferent connections.
• Neostriatum (caudate
nucleus+putamen): input portion of
BG which receives projections from
the overlying cerebral cortex.
• Pallidum (internal segment of globus
pallidus, Gpi) is the output portion of
BG which projects to the thalamus.
• Generally, the basal ganglia circuitry is divided into five pathways: one
limbic, two associative (prefrontal), one oculomotor, and one motor
pathway. (The motor and oculomotor pathways are sometimes
grouped into one motor pathway.)
Functional nuclei of basal ganglia
The functional nuclei of the basal ganglia (BG) include:
● Striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen), which receives information from all
parts of the cerebral cortex except the primary visual and auditory cortices
● Globus pallidus internus (GPi)
● Globus pallidus externus (GPe)
● Subthalamic nucleus (STN)
● Substantia nigra (SN) – pars reticulata (pr) and pars compacta (pc) which contain
dopamine-producing cells.
These nuclei form several pathways (direct, indirect and hyperdirect).
BG is also topographically arranged with each body part represented relative to its
innervations.
• The most common condition
• that results from dysfunction within the basal ganglia is Parkinson disease. The
substantia nigra, a
• nucleus that is part of the basal ganglia, “loses its ability to produce dopamine, a
neurotransmitter
• necessary to normal function of basal ganglia neurons” (Fuller et al., 2009). This
can lead to
• symptoms of Parkinson disease, which can include bradykinesia (slowness
initiating movement),
• akinesia (difficulty in initiating movement), tremors, rigidity, and postural
instability.
