Abstract
Much of our present understanding of the function and operation of the basal ganglia rests on models of anatomical connectivity derived from tract-tracing approaches in rodents and primates. However, the last years have been characterized by promising step forwards in the in vivo investigation and comprehension of brain connectivity in humans. The aim of this review is to revise the current knowledge on basal ganglia circuits, highlighting similarities and differences across species, in order to widen the current perspective on the intricate model of the basal ganglia system. This will allow us to explore the implications of additional direct pathways running from cortex to basal ganglia and between basal ganglia and cerebellum recently described in animals and humans.
Highlights
The brain is a complex network consisting of a huge number of neurons (∼ 1011) segregated in spatial regions with similar cytoarchitecture and functional features
The presence of structures at the basis of the human brain had already raised the attention of many scientist from the antiquity to the 19th century; early anatomical depictions of the basal ganglia appear in the works of classical anatomists such as Galenus or Vesalius; the use of the term ‘‘corpus striatum,’’ to refer to the large subcortical masses located nearby the cerebral ventricles, is attested early in Thomas Willis ‘‘Cerebri Anatome’’ (1664) (Parent, 2017)
Despite several efforts have been made to study brain and basal ganglia functional anatomy, the most recent breakthroughs occurred with the development of various powerful neuronographic methods, introduced in late 20th century, which have allowed to describe the close interrelation between the core structures of the basal ganglia and to set the ground basements of the current ideas on the basal ganglia circuits
Summary
The brain is a complex network consisting of a huge number of neurons (∼ 1011) segregated in spatial regions with similar cytoarchitecture and functional features. The basal ganglia are a group of subcortical nuclei which integrate information from widespread cortical areas and in turn project their outputs back to the cerebral cortex (Alexander et al, 1990). Considering their pivotal role in motor and non-motor functions, the basal ganglia have been a main topic of interest in the field of basic and clinical neurosciences. The Cortico-Basal Ganglia-Cerebellar Network connections have been widely studied and different models of basal ganglia circuitry have undergone major revisions during the last decades (Nelson and Kreitzer, 2014). We will widen the current perspective on basal ganglia connectomics providing a new challenging, comprehensive and integrated cortico-basal ganglia-cerebellum model
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