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Reappraisal of the motor role of basal ganglia: a functional magnetic resonance image study.

The importance of the basal ganglia in controlling motor function is well known. However, neuroimaging studies have failed to show either movement-rate dependence or different activation patterns caused by self-initiated (SI) and externally triggered (ET) movements in the basal ganglia-thalamo-motor loop. We herein report the functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) mapping of sequential left-hand finger movements at five different rates under SI and ET conditions. Significant movement-rate dependence was found in the whole right basal ganglia-thalamo-motor loop only during the SI task. Network analysis also showed strong interactions within this loop during SI movement, whereas interactions were present only from the premotor cortex to the putamen via the sensorimotor cortex during the ET task. Furthermore, psychophysiological interaction analysis confirmed the different modulation between the two tasks in the putamen. fMRI provides evidence that the basal ganglia-thalamo-motor loop plays a key role in controlling the rate of sequential finger movements in SI movement but not in ET movement.

Adult↗

MRI in basal ganglia diseases.

76 patients suffering from different basal ganglia diseases (28 cases with M. Parkinson, secondary parkinsonism and Parkinson diseases; 5 cases with Chorea Huntington; 5 cases with Fahr disease and 38 cases with M. Wilson) MRI featured 2 characteristical patterns: 1. abnormal deposition of minerals, 2. focal atrophies of involved organs. Thus MRI provides with informations about: 1. differential diagnosis in clinically misleading courses, 2. stage and, as a consequence, prognosis of some diseases, 3. biochemical processes of diseases in vivo.

Adolescent↗

Two syndromes of aphasia occurring with ischemic lesions involving the left basal ganglia.

Seven aphasic patients with circumscribed left basal ganglia infarctions were investigated within the first 15 days after their strokes. Five showed transcortical motor aphasia initially. Two patients suffered from anterior chorioideal artery infarction. As this vessel does not contribute to cortical supply, cortical malfunction probably cannot account for the language deficits. Patients with infarctions in the supply area of anterior lenticulostriate arteries became fluent with frequent phonemic and semantic paraphasias resembling Wernicke's aphasia. Three of four patients showed transiently more pronounced deficits in auditory than in written-language comprehension.

Adolescent↗

Non calcific vasculopathy in the basal ganglia.

Stripes of high echogenicity in the basal ganglia of infants have been rarely observed on cerebral ultrasound. These lesions, which appear to be due to a non calcific vasculopathy, are caused, in the majority of cases, by congenital infections and trisomy 13. We describe four infants with the characteristic ultrasonic appearance of this vasculopathy. Two children had cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, one a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The fourth child who presented a malformation of the skull and eye anomalies had no definitive diagnosis. Of the three surviving children one was developing normally. One had mild and one severe psychomotor retardation.

Basal Ganglia↗

Aging and the basal ganglia.

Age-related changes within the basal ganglia primarily affect the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway and related pigmented nuclei. These alterations resemble the pathologic changes of Parkinson's disease, but cell dropout is not as marked or uniquely selective in the aged brain. Histopathologic changes including interneuronal inclusion bodies are associated with aging, but the number and location of these suggest that this is a nonspecific phenomenon, not the harbinger of Parkinson's disease or other specific neuropathology. It appears that aging and Parkinson's disease result in similar brain cell degenerative processes, but the causes and specific triggering mechanisms for these changes are likely to be quite distinct.

Aged↗

Oscillatory nature of human basal ganglia activity: relationship to the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.

Alterations of basal ganglia physiology in parkinsonism may consist of two elements, an increase in the firing rate of neurones and a change in the pattern of synchronisation of discharges between neurones. Recent findings suggest the presence of two principal modes of synchronised activity within the human subthalamo-pallidal-thalamo-cortical circuit, at <30 Hz and >60 Hz. These oscillations are dynamically and systematically modulated by task, thereby suggesting a functional role in movement. More importantly, the two frequency modes are inversely affected by movement, consistent with opposing actions, and differentially expressed according to the prevailing level of dopaminergic activity. It is argued that the balance between these modes determines the effects of basal ganglia-thalamocortical projections on the motor areas of the cortex. The lower frequency oscillations facilitate slow idling rhythms in the motor areas of the cortex, whereas synchronisation at high frequency restores dynamic task-related cortical ensemble activity in the gamma band.

Basal Ganglia↗

Somatotopy in the basal ganglia: experimental and clinical evidence for segregated sensorimotor channels.

Growing experimental and clinical evidence supports the notion that the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops proceed along parallel circuits linking cortical and subcortical regions subserving the processing of sensorimotor, associative and affective tasks. In particular, there is evidence that a strict topographic segregation is maintained during the processing of sensorimotor information flowing from cortical motor areas to the sensorimotor areas of the basal ganglia. The output from the basal ganglia to the motor thalamus, which projects back to neocortical motor areas, is also organized into topographically segregated channels. This high degree of topographic segregation is demonstrated by the presence of a well-defined somatotopic organization in the sensorimotor areas of the basal ganglia. The presence of body maps in the basal ganglia has become clinically relevant with the increasing use of surgical procedures, such as lesioning or deep brain stimulation, which are selectively aimed at restricted subcortical targets in the sensorimotor loop such as the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi). The ability to ameliorate the motor control dysfunction without producing side effects related to interference with non-motor circuits subserving associative or affective processing requires the ability to target subcortical areas particularly involved in sensorimotor processing (currently achieved only by careful intraoperative microelectrode mapping). The goal of this article is to review current knowledge about the somatotopic segregation of basal ganglia sensorimotor areas and outline in detail what is known about their body maps.

Animals↗

Rolling mouse Nagoya as a mutant animal model of basal ganglia dysfunction: determination of absolute rates of local cerebral glucose utilization.

In order to elucidate the neuronal mechanism of the motor disturbances of the Rolling mouse Nagoya (rolling), a neurological mutant mouse (genotype rol/rol) showing frequent lurching and falling over on walking, we determined absolute rates of local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) with the [14C]deoxyglucose method. The rates were compared with those of heterozygote (+/rol) with normal behavior, and of normal mice (+/+) of the same strain (C3Hf/Nga). Rolling showed marked and significant increases in LCGU in the structures of the basal ganglia such as the globus pallidus, entopeduncular nucleus, substantia nigra pars compacta and pars reticulata, and subthalamic nucleus, confirming our previous finding with semiquantitative LCGU determination. Additional significant but much less marked increases in LCGU of rolling were found in some structures of the brainstem and limbic system, such as the pedunculopontine nucleus, red nucleus, ventral tegmental area, lateral habenula, and CA1 and CA3 of the hippocampus. Although rolling has been regarded as an animal model of cerebellar ataxia, rolling showed no alterations of LCGU in the cerebellum. The heterozygote showed intermediate increases in LCGU between rolling and normal mice in the basal ganglia structures such as the globus pallidus, substantia nigra pars reticulata and subthalamic nucleus. Our findings indicate that rolling has a definite, genetically determined dysfunction of the basal ganglia. The primary site of the basal ganglia dysfunction might probably be in the striatum, involving both the neostriatum and limbic striatum, and resulting in secondary dysfunction in their target structures.

Animals↗

Prevalences of CT-detected calcification in the basal ganglia in idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Sixteen patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP) and eight patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) were examined by CT scan of the brain. Calcification in the basal ganglia was observed in 11 patients with IHP (69%) and in all eight patients with PHP. Of the 19 patients with basal ganglia calcification, nine had calcification in the cerebral cortex (47%), and four had calcification in the cerebellum (21%). Observation of basal ganglia calcification on CT gave rise to suspicion of IHP or PHP in three patients (12%). The remaining patients were examined at varying time after diagnosis. Since arrest in growth of calcification after institution of treatment has never been proven, the reported prevalences of calcification may not be valid to the situation at the time of diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

Basal ganglia and language: phonology modulates dopaminergic release.

Basal ganglia have been implicated in syntactic and phonological processes, but direct evidence has been scarce. Here, we used [11C]raclopride and positron emission tomography to measure modulations of the dopaminergic system induced by phonological or syntactic processing. Two significant effects were found. First, the level of accuracy in phonological processing significantly correlated with tracer binding potential in the left caudate nucleus. Second, the speed in phonological processing significantly correlated with tracer binding potential in the left putamen. Thus, a more accurate and fast phonological processing was associated with a reduced dopamine requirement in the left striatum. These findings show that the striatal dopaminergic system plays an essential role in grammatical processes that form the core of human language.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Computational models of the basal ganglia: from robots to membranes.

With the rapid accumulation of neuroscientific data comes a pressing need to develop models that can explain the computational processes performed by the basal ganglia. Relevant biological information spans a range of structural levels, from the activity of neuronal membranes to the role of the basal ganglia in overt behavioural control. This viewpoint presents a framework for understanding the aims, limitations and methods for testing of computational models across all structural levels. We identify distinct modelling strategies that can deliver important and complementary insights into the nature of problems the basal ganglia have evolved to solve, and describe methods that are used to solve them.

Animals↗

Basal ganglia calcifications in childhood.

In the advent of widespread use of neuroimaging, calcification of the basal ganglia is visualized with increasing frequency. In this monograph, modern neuroimaging features of various disorders causing basal ganglia calcification in childhood are illustrated and discussed.

Basal Ganglia Diseases↗

Traumatic basal ganglia hemorrhage: clinicopathologic features and outcome.

Traumatic basal ganglia hemorrhage (TBGH) is probably secondary to rupture of lenticulostriate or anterior choroidal arteries. We evaluated 6 consecutive cases of this entity to define its clinical and pathologic dimensions. Relative frequency of TBGH was 3% (3 left, 3 right) in this acute rehabilitation population. Lesion size and associated pathology varied. Contralateral hemiparesis, present in all, recovered to varying extents, apparently related to lesion location (posterior limb, internal capsule, or midperiventricular white matter), not size. Prolonged muteness occurred in 4 of 6; these 4 patients also had severe diffuse axonal injury. Clinical findings corresponded with previously recognized subcortical hemisphere profiles. All achieved a moderate disability or good recovery rating on the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Rather than any features of the TBGH itself, duration of coma and/or associated temporal herniation predicted slower recovery and worse outcome. In conclusion, TBGH is a rare entity compatible with a favorable recovery, especially when occurring in isolation. The hemorrhage itself determines clinical signs related to particular subcortical structures involved and the side of the lesion. Overall cognitive impairment and speed and quality of recovery are more related to associated cerebral damage.

Adolescent↗

Changing concepts of nigral dopamine system function within the basal ganglia: relevance to extrapyramidal disorders.

The recent discovery of new methods for tracing brain pathways and studying their function has greatly expanded our knowledge of the areas of the brain involved in extrapyramidal disorders and has begun to change our concept of how these areas function. One such change has involved our understanding of the role of the dopaminergic system within the basal ganglia. Rather than dopamine being seen primarily as a major influence on striatal output it is now perhaps best conceptualized as one link in a set of circular pathways, one of whose functions is to modulate nondopaminergic output from the substantia nigra to other brain regions. In addition, new evidence suggests that this neurotransmitter system may play a role in the way sensory inputs are handled by the basal ganglia. These new roles for the nigral dopaminergic system raise important new questions about its function in extrapyramidal motor systems as well as provide possible answers to questions concerning the mechanisms underlying some of the symptoms seen in disorders involving the basal ganglia.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

Phase relationships support a role for coordinated activity in the indirect pathway in organizing slow oscillations in basal ganglia output after loss of dopamine.

The goal of the present study was to determine the phase relationships of the slow oscillatory activity that emerges in basal ganglia nuclei in anesthetized rats after dopamine cell lesion in order to gain insight into the passage of this oscillatory activity through the basal ganglia network. Spike train recordings from striatum, subthalamic nucleus (STN), globus pallidus (GP), and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) were paired with simultaneous local field potential (LFP) recordings from SNpr or motor cortex ipsilateral to a unilateral lesion of substantia nigra dopamine neurons in urethane-anesthetized rats. Dopamine cell lesion induced a striking increase in incidence of slow oscillations (0.3-2.5 Hz) in firing rate in all nuclei. Phase relationships assessed through paired recordings using SNpr LFP as a temporal reference showed that slow oscillatory activity in GP spike trains is predominantly antiphase with oscillations in striatum, and slow oscillatory activity in STN spike trains is in-phase with oscillatory activity in cortex but predominantly antiphase with GP oscillatory activity. Taken together, these results imply that after dopamine cell lesion in urethane-anesthetized rats, increased oscillatory activity in GP spike trains is shaped more by increased phasic inhibitory input from the striatum than by phasic excitatory input from STN. In addition, results show that oscillatory activity in SNpr spike trains is typically antiphase with GP oscillatory activity and in-phase with STN oscillatory activity. While these observations do not rule out additional mechanisms contributing to the emergence of slow oscillations in the basal ganglia after dopamine cell lesion in the anesthetized preparation, they are compatible with 1) increased oscillatory activity in the GP facilitated by an effect of dopamine loss on striatal 'filtering' of slow components of oscillatory cortical input, 2) increased oscillatory activity in STN spike trains supported by convergent antiphase inhibitory and excitatory oscillatory input from GP and cortex, respectively, and 3) increased oscillatory activity in SNpr spike trains organized by convergent antiphase inhibitory and excitatory oscillatory input from GP and STN, respectively.

Action Potentials↗

Prefrontal cortex-basal ganglia circuits in the rat: involvement of ventral pallidum and subthalamic nucleus.

The core of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc core) is the principal input structure to the basal ganglia circuitry for the prelimbic and medial orbital areas (PL/MO) of the prefrontal cortex. As is now well recognized in the rat, the main basal ganglia output of this prefrontal channel is the dorsomedial part of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) and not the ventral pallidum as previously suggested. There is evidence suggesting that the ventral pallidum is rather involved with the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in an indirect NAcc-SNR pathway. Indeed, we have recently shown that the NAcc core sends an inhibitory input to the lateral ventral pallidum (VPl), which projects to the medial STN. In the present study, we injected biocytin into the medial STN, at a site where neurons presented an inhibitory response to VPl stimulation. This produced anterogradely labelled fibres in the medial SNR and in the VPl. Furthermore, the stimulation of the VPl induced an inhibition in a majority of the STN cells identified, by the antidromic activation method, as projecting to SNR (76.6%) and/or back to the VPl (72.7%). In conclusion, these data further demonstrate the existence of an indirect striato-nigral pathway in the PL/MO channel and indicate that VPl is involved in an inhibitory feedback circuit, which modulates the discharge of medial STN. These results indicate that the medial STN is implicated in the limbic/cognitive functions of the basal ganglia.

Animals↗

A consideration of sensory factors involved in motor functions of the basal ganglia.

There is a sizeable literature concerning basal ganglia (BG) functioning that is based on data from experiments employing a method of analysis that is traditionally used with other motor areas. A brief review of this literature is presented and the following conclusion is reached: as compared to the success of traditional methodologies in elucidating the workings of other motor systems, their use in BG investigations has proven disappointing. A possible reason for the shortcomings of traditional analyses in BG research is discussed. The remainder of this review concerns an alternative approach to the study of the BG that follows from consideration of a variety of clinical and experimental findings. The literature suggests that sensory aspects of BG functioning must be taken into account to fully appreciate the role of this system in motor control. A review of the literature concerning the latter suggests two points: The BG function as sensory analyzer for motor systems. That is, the BG convert sensory data from a form that is receptor oriented to a form that is relevant for guiding movement. The BG ultimately affect movement by gating sensory inputs into other motor areas rather than by directly affecting these areas. This sensory-based model of BG functioning explains a number of apparent discrepancies in the literature. In addition, seemingly anomalous findings are reconciled with the overwhelming evidence that the BG are a motor system. In particular, the suggestions of a BG role in attention and cognition are viewed as being intrinsic rather than orthogonal to the role of the BG in movement.

Animals↗

Expression and localisation of CYP2D enzymes in rat basal ganglia.

P450 enzymes in the CYP2D subfamily have been suggested to contribute to the susceptibility of individuals in developing Parkinson's disease. We have used specific anti-peptide antisera and peroxidase immunohistochemistry to investigate the expression of CYP2D enzymes in the rat brain and some possible factors that may affect their regulation. In male Wistar rats, CYP2D1 was not detected in the basal ganglia or in any other brain region. CYP2D2 was weakly expressed within neurones of the subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra and interpeduncular nucleus as well as in the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, red nucleus and pontine nucleus. CYP2D3 and CYP2D4 were absent from the basal ganglia, although moderate amounts of CYP2D3 were detected within fibres of the oculomotor root, and very low levels of CYP2D4 were present in white matter tracts. In contrast, CYP2D5 was extensively expressed in the basal ganglia, including neurones in the subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra and interpeduncular nucleus, as well as other areas of the brain, including the ventral tegmental area, piriform cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, medial habenular nucleus, thalamic nucleus and pontine nucleus. Lesioning of the nigro-striatal tract to cause almost a complete loss of tyrosine hydroxylase containing neurones in the substantia nigra, also reduced the number of neurones expressing CYP2D5 by 50%, indicating that CYP2D5 is expressed in dopaminergic neurones. Castration of pre-pubertal or adult Wistar rats had no effect on the number of CYP2D5-positive neurones in the substantia nigra. Although Dark Agouti rats lack hepatic CYP2D2, expression in the midbrain was similar to that of Wistar rats; furthermore, there was no difference in expression or distribution between male and female rats. In contrast to naive rats, extensive expression of CYP2D4 was found throughout the basal ganglia and in other brain nuclei in Wistar rats treated with not only clozapine, but also saline, suggesting that CYP2D4 may be induced as a result of mild stress. The function of CYP2D enzymes in the brain remains unknown, but their selective localisation suggests a physiological role in neuronal activity and in adaptation to abnormal situations.

Animals↗