As an anatomic entity, the basal ganglia have no precise definition. Principally they include the caudate nucleus and the lentiform (lenticular, from its lens-like shape) nucleus with its two subdivisions—the putamen and globus pallidus. Insofar as the caudate nucleus and putamen are really a continuous structure (separated only incompletely by fibers of the internal capsule) and are cytologically and functionally distinct from the pallidum, it is more meaningful to divide these nuclear masses into the striatum (or neostriatum), comprising the caudate nucleus and putamen, and the paleostriatum or pallidum, which has a medial (internal) and a lateral (external) portion. The putamen and pallidum lie on the lateral aspect of the internal capsule, which separates them from the caudate nucleus, thalamus, subthalamic nucleus, and substantia nigra on its medial side (Figs. 4-1 and 4-2). By virtue of their close connections with the caudate and lenticular nuclei, the subthalamic nucleus (nucleus of Luys) and the substantia nigra are included as parts of the basal ganglia. The claustrum and amygdaloid nuclear complex, despite their largely different connections and functions, are sometimes included although they do not participate in any direct way in the modulation of movement.
For reasons indicated further on, some physiologists have expanded the list of basal ganglionic structures to include the red nucleus, the intralaminar thalamic nuclei, and the reticular formations of the upper brainstem. These structures receive direct cortical projections and give rise to rubrospinal and reticulospinal tracts that run parallel to the corticospinal (pyramidal) ones; hence they also were once referred to as extrapyramidal. However, these nonpyramidal linkages are structurally independent of the major extrapyramidal circuits and are better termed parapyramidal systems. As the final links in this circuit—the premotor and supplementary motor cortices—ultimately project onto the motor cortex, they are more aptly referred to as prepyramidal (Thach and Montgomery).
Earlier views of basal ganglionic organization emphasized serial connectivity and the funneling of efferent projections to the ventrolateral thalamus and thence to the motor cortex (Fig. 4-3). The most important basal ganglionic connections and circuitry are indicated in
Figs. 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3. The striatum, mainly the putamen, is the receptive part of the basal ganglia, receiving topographically organized fibers from all parts of the cerebral cortex and from the pars compacta (pigmented neurons) of the substantia nigra. The output nuclei of the basal ganglia consist of the medial (internal) pallidum and the pars reticulata (nonpigmented portion) of the substantia nigra (see Fig. 4-3). Further explication of basal ganglionic function can be found in the excellent book by Watts and Koller.