Professional Documents
Culture Documents
09 Basal Ganglia Systems 2013 Taha
09 Basal Ganglia Systems 2013 Taha
Basal Ganglia
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Function: Modulation through
disinhibition
3. Action Selection
4. Neuromodulators: dopamine
What do the basal ganglia do?
1. Modulate the initiation, termination,
amplitude, and selection of movement
- Initiation and selection
2. Learning
-Response-outcome associations
- Stimulus-response associations
Basal ganglia:
a modulatory cortical loop
1. Basal Ganglia receives
robust input from the
cortex
- Almost all parts of
cortex; excludes primary
sensory cortices
SNc
Striatum: Medium spiny neurons
– GABAergic; inhibitory
2 principle types
– 3 GABAergic
interneurons
– Tonically active
neurons (TANs)
• Cholinergic
• Large cell bodies
Globus pallidus
Two segments
→ Internal: Principle
output nucleus
→ External: intrinsic
circuitry
Thalamus
Cortex
Subthalamic
nucleus
Three organizing principles of
basal ganglia connectivity
Cortical input
• Anatomically parallel
loops with distinct
function
• Finer-grain
topographic
organization within
loops
Thalamus
Cortex
• Patch/matrix Subthalamic
nucleus
Functional topography:
Parallel loops w/in the BG subserve distinct functions
Functional topography:
Parallel loops w/in the BG
subserve distinct functions
• 4 pathways:
– Skeletomotor
– Oculomotor channel
– Association
• Behavior, learning,
cognition
– Limbic
• Addiction, emotional
behavior
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Modulating action through
disinhibition
3. Direct and Indirect Pathways
4. Action Selection
5. Neuromodulators
6. Pathology
Movement modulation through disinhibition
Movement modulation through disinhibition
Output nuclei of the basal ganglia are
inhibitory
Output nuclei maintain a high tonic level of
discharge, suppressing activity in target regions
Firing under quiescent conditions
(in the absence of movement)
Movement modulation occurs through
disinhibition of thalamocortical target regions
What advantages does modulation
through inhibition confer?
• Strong tonic Cortical regions
inhibition allows
basal ganglia to
serve as a master
regulator –
arbitrating between
multiple excitatory
inputs
Saccade
generator
• Initiating and
• Discriminating
Basal ganglia: movement
modulation through disinhibition
1. Output nuclei of the basal ganglia are
inhibitory
2. Output nuclei maintain a high tonic level of
discharge, suppressing activity in target
regions
3. Phasic decrease in firing rate transiently
releases target regions from inhibition.
4. Disinhibited thalamocortical circuit
discharges, promoting movement.
Outline
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Modulating action through
disinhibition
3. Direct and Indirect Pathways
4. Action Selection
5. Neuromodulators
6. Pathology
Direct and Indirect Pathways
Direct Pathway
Basal firing rates in the striatum are very low,
and dependent upon strong cortical excitation.
Under these conditions, striatal firing has
little impact on GPi/SNr discharge
Phasic cortical excitation drives excitatory
discharge in the striatum.
This causes a transient inhibition of GPi/SNr firing.
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Modulating action through
disinhibition
3. Direct and Indirect Pathways
4. Action Selection
5. Neuromodulators
6. Pathology
Action selection
Action encoding in output nuclei of
the BG
Action encoding in the output nuclei
of the BG
Direct pathway inputs are focused
and robust
Direct pathway inputs are focused and
robust
Indirect pathway inputs are widespread and
diffuse
Together, these inputs create a center-
surround mechanism for action selection
Movement modulation occurs through
disinhibition of thalamocortical target regions
Competing alternatives are actively inhibited
Why do we need to ‘sharpen’ selection
mechanisms?
• Multiple/ambiguous stimuli in our environment
often demand our attention/action (e.g., visual
stimuli)
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Modulating action through
disinhibition
3. Direct and Indirect Pathways
4. Action Selection
5. Neuromodulators
6. Pathology
Dopamine input arises from the
SNc
Direct and Indirect pathways express distinct
dopamine receptors
D2 signaling suppresses firing in
indirect pathway neurons
D2 signaling suppresses firing in
indirect pathway neurons
1. Anatomy
a. BG components
b. Anatomical connectivity
2. Modulating action through
disinhibition
3. Direct and Indirect Pathways
4. Action Selection
5. Neuromodulators
6. Pathology
Parkinson’s Disease: What happens when
DA input is lost?
Parkinson’s Disease: What happens when
DA input is lost?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3VrnOtmZBtc
Direct pathway become less active; indirect
pathway becomes more active
Action selection (direct pathway) is suppressed:
action inhibition (indirect pathway) is facilitated
Summary
1. Modulating action through disinhibition
3. Neuromodulators
Dopamine
Facilitates action through both pathways
Increases firing in response to reward directed cues
Acetylcholine
Suppresses action through both pathways
Decrease firing in response to reward directed cues