Basal ganglia
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The basal ganglia or basal nuclei are a group of subcortical nuclei found in the brains of vertebrates. Positioned at the base of the forebrain and the top of the midbrain, they have strong connection
Schematic of basal ganglia overlain on the cerebral cortex
Basal ganglia
The left side of Fig.1 shows a region of the prefrontal cortex receiving multiple inputs from other regions, as cortico-cortical activity. The input from B is the strongest of these. The right side of Fig. 1 shows the input signals also being fed to the basal ganglia circuitry. The output from here, back to the same region, is shown to modify the strength of the input from B, by adding strength to the input from C thereby modifying the strongest signal from B to C. (Thalamic involvement is implicit but not shown).
Substantia nigra
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The substantia nigra is a basal ganglia structure located in the midbrain that plays an important role in reward and movement. Substantia nigra is Latin for "black substance", reflecting the fact that
Basal ganglia
…caudate nucleus and putamen) and the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle), the globus pallidus, the ventral pallidum, the substantia nigra, and the subthalamic nucleus. Each of these components has complex internal anatomical and neurochemical structures. The largest component, the striatum…
Horizontal MRI (T1 weighted) slice with highlighting indicating location of the substantia nigra
Enhanced Neuromelanin MRI with Color images (RGB) showing Substantia nigra pars compact