AUTHOR=Rocha Gabriel S. , Freire Marco A. M. , Britto André M. , Paiva Karina M. , Oliveira Rodrigo F. , Fonseca Ivana A. T. , Araújo Dayane P. , Oliveira Lucidio C. , Guzen Fausto P. , Morais Paulo L. A. G. , Cavalcanti José R. L. P. TITLE=Basal ganglia for beginners: the basic concepts you need to know and their role in movement control JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=17 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2023.1242929 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2023.1242929 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=

The basal ganglia are a subcortical collection of interacting clusters of cell bodies, and are involved in reward, emotional, and motor circuits. Within all the brain processing necessary to carry out voluntary movement, the basal nuclei are fundamental, as they modulate the activity of the motor regions of the cortex. Despite being much studied, the motor circuit of the basal ganglia is still difficult to understand for many people at all, especially undergraduate and graduate students. This review article seeks to bring the functioning of this circuit with a simple and objective approach, exploring the functional anatomy, neurochemistry, neuronal pathways, related diseases, and interactions with other brain regions to coordinate voluntary movement.