Corticostriatal connections play a central role in developing appropriate goal-directed
behaviors, including the motivation and cognition to develop appropriate actions to obtain a …

Among the many neuromodulators used by the mammalian brain to regulate circuit function
and plasticity, dopamine (DA) stands out as one of the most behaviorally powerful …

The striatum integrates excitatory inputs from the cortex and the thalamus to control diverse
functions. Although the striatum is thought to consist of sensorimotor, associative and limbic …

The basal ganglia are a chain of subcortical nuclei that facilitate action selection. Two striatal
projection systems—so-called direct and indirect pathways—form the functional backbone of …

The discovery of cannabinoid receptors and subsequent identification of their endogenous
ligands (endocannabinoids) in early 1990s have greatly accelerated research on …

This paper reviews some of the recent findings on different aspects of the anatomical
organization of the basal ganglia. Attempts have been made to delineate the anatomical …

The dorsal striatum, which consists of the caudate and putamen, is the gateway to the basal
ganglia. It receives convergent excitatory afferents from cortex and thalamus and forms the …

Subtypes of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are constructed from
numerous subunit combinations that compose channel-receptor complexes with varied …

Where and how does the brain code reward during social behavior? Almost all elements of
the brain's reward circuit are modulated during social behavior. The striatum in particular is …

Our understanding of the organization of the basal ganglia has advanced markedly over the
last 10 years, mainly due to increased knowledge of their anatomical, neurochemical and …