Glossary
Striatum
What is the striatum?
The striatum lies beneath the cerebral cortex in the forebrain. It is part of the basal ganglia, a group of structures involved in movement, learning, and action. The dorsal striatum includes the caudate nucleus and putamen. The ventral striatum includes the nucleus accumbens and related regions.
Striatum functions: movement and learning
The striatum receives information from the cerebral cortex and participates in circuits that influence movement. Its outputs pass to pallidal and nigral nuclei, which influence other targets, including the thalamus and brainstem. This is a simplified route through a set of connected circuits.
It also receives dopamine inputs from the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area. Dopamine can affect learning and changes at synapses, including through signals related to reward prediction errors. These signals are not identical across every cell and pathway.
Decision-making
Striatal circuits contribute to learning which actions lead to which outcomes and to selecting actions. The striatum participates in these processes with other brain regions.
Neurological disorders
In Parkinson's disease, loss of dopamine-producing neurons reduces dopamine input to the striatum and disrupts movement-related circuits. Huntington's disease involves degeneration affecting striatal neurons, with consequences for movement, cognition, and behavior.
Why it matters
The anatomy helps connect movement, learning, and motivation. Distinguishing dorsal and ventral regions helps researchers study their different contributions.