Recent advances in understanding the role of the basal ganglia

The basal ganglia are a complex subcortical structure that is principally involved in the selection and implementation of purposeful actions in response to external and internal cues. The basal ganglia set the pattern for facilitation of voluntary movements and simultaneous inhibition of competing or interfering movements. In addition, the basal ganglia are involved in the control of a wide variety of non-motor behaviors, spanning emotions, language, decision making, procedural learning, and working memory. This review presents a comparative overview of classic and contemporary models of basal ganglia organization and functional importance, including their increased integration with cortical and cerebellar structures.

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Role of basal ganglia in voluntary movements

Juntendo Medical Journal ◽

10.14789/pjmj.41.186 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 186-194

Author(s):

OKIHIDE HIKOSAKA

Keyword(s):

Basal Ganglia ◽

Voluntary Movements

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The Role of Representation and Working Memory in Diagrammatic Reasoning and Decision Making

Diagrammatic Representation and Reasoning ◽

10.1007/978-1-4471-0109-3_12 ◽

2002 ◽

pp. 207-221

Author(s):

Jozsef A. Toth ◽

C. Michael Lewis

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Diagrammatic Reasoning

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Age differences in decision making under known risk: The role of working memory and impulsivity.

Developmental Psychology ◽

10.1037/dev0001132 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 241-252

Author(s):

Jutta Kray ◽

Barbara K. Kreis ◽

Corinna Lorenz

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Age Differences

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Beyond working memory: the role of persistent activity in decision making

Trends in Cognitive Sciences ◽

10.1016/j.tics.2010.03.006 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 216-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 100

Author(s):

Clayton E. Curtis ◽

Daeyeol Lee

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Persistent Activity

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Human subthalamic nucleus activity during non-motor decision making

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.31007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Baltazar A Zavala ◽

Anthony I Jang ◽

Kareem A Zaghloul

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Basal Ganglia ◽

Subthalamic Nucleus ◽

Motor Function ◽

Beta Band ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Motor Actions ◽

Shed Light

Recent studies have implicated the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in decisions that involve inhibiting movements. Many of the decisions that we make in our daily lives, however, do not involve any motor actions. We studied non-motor decision making by recording intraoperative STN and prefrontal cortex (PFC) electrophysiology as participants perform a novel task that required them to decide whether to encode items into working memory. During all encoding trials, beta band (15–30 Hz) activity decreased in the STN and PFC, and this decrease was progressively enhanced as more items were stored into working memory. Crucially, the STN and lateral PFC beta decrease was significantly attenuated during the trials in which participants were instructed not to encode the presented stimulus. These changes were associated with increase lateral PFC-STN coherence and altered STN neuronal spiking. Our results shed light on why states of altered basal ganglia activity disrupt both motor function and cognition.

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Dynamic Dopamine Modulation in the Basal Ganglia: A Neurocomputational Account of Cognitive Deficits in Medicated and Nonmedicated Parkinsonism

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/0898929052880093 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 51-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 555

Author(s):

Michael J. Frank

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Basal Ganglia ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Dynamic Range ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Learning Impairments ◽

Medication Effects ◽

Probabilistic Classification ◽

Dopamine Modulation

Dopamine (DA) depletion in the basal ganglia (BG) of Parkinson's patients gives rise to both frontal-like and implicit learning impairments. Dopaminergic medication alleviates some cognitive deficits but impairs those that depend on intact areas of the BG, apparently due to DA “overdose.” These findings are difficult to accommodate with verbal theories of BG/DA function, owing to complexity of system dynamics: DA dynamically modulates function in the BG, which is itself a modulatory system. This article presents a neural network model that instantiates key biological properties and provides insight into the underlying role of DA in the BG during learning and execution of cognitive tasks. Specifically, the BG modulates the execution of “actions” (e.g., motor responses and working memory updating) being considered in different parts of the frontal cortex. Phasic changes in DA, which occur during error feedback, dynamically modulate the BG threshold for facilitating/suppressing a cortical command in response to particular stimuli. Reduced dynamic range of DA explains Parkinson and DA overdose deficits with a single underlying dysfunction, despite overall differences in raw DA levels. Simulated Parkinsonism and medication effects provide a theoretical basis for behavioral data in probabilistic classification and reversal tasks. The model also provides novel testable predictions for neuropsychological and pharmacological studies, and motivates further investigation of BG/DA interactions with the prefrontal cortex in working memory.

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Role of basal ganglia–brainstem pathways in the control of motor behaviors

Neuroscience Research ◽

10.1016/j.neures.2004.06.015 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 137-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 179

Author(s):

K. Takakusaki ◽

K. Saitoh ◽

H. Harada ◽

M. Kashiwayanagi

Keyword(s):

Basal Ganglia ◽

Motor Behaviors

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Cool and hot executive functions at 5 years old as predictors of physical and relational aggression between 5 and 6 years old

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/0165025418798498 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 157-165

Author(s):

Sarah E. O’Toole ◽

Stella Tsermentseli ◽

Sajid Humayun ◽

Claire P. Monks

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Executive Function ◽

Relational Aggression ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Delay Of Gratification ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children

To study the role of executive function (EF) in the early development of aggression, the role of cool and hot EF skills at 5 years old, in the development of physical and relational aggression between 5 and 6 years old, was explored. Typically developing children ( N = 80) completed tasks assessing their cool (inhibition, working memory, planning) and hot EF (affective decision making, delay of gratification) skills at 5 years old. Longitudinal data were collected from teachers that rated children’s aggression when they were 5, 5.5, and 6 years old. Inhibition at 5 years old predicted changes in physical and relational aggression between 5 and 6 years old. Early cool EF, but not hot EF, may therefore be associated with aggression and inhibitory control specifically with changes in aggression during early childhood.

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