Basal ganglia

Question 1

definition: dyskinesia

Answer 1

involuntary movements

Question 2

what structures compose the basal ganglia?

Answer 2

1. caudate2. putamen 3. globus pallidus (internal, external) 4. subthalamic nucleus 5. substantia nigra (pars reticulata, pars compacta)

Question 3

which NT is important in the nigrostriatal pathway?

Answer 3

dopamine (excitatory or inhibitory)

Question 4

which NT is important in the corticostriate pathway?

Answer 4

glutamate (excitatory)

Question 5

which NT is important in the striatum to GPe and GPi pathways?

Answer 5

GABA (inhibitory)

Question 6

is GABA excitatory or inhibitory? glutamate?

Answer 6

1. GABA - inhibitory 2. glutamate - excitatory

Question 7

what are the symptoms of huntington’s disease?

Answer 7

1. chorea 2. dementia 3. voluntary movements slower than usual

Question 8

where is the lesion associated with hemiballismus?

Answer 8

contralateral subthalamic nucleus

Question 9

what are the functional loops of the basal ganglia?

Answer 9

1. body 2. oculomotor 3. prefrontal 4. limbic

Question 10

what comprises the corpus striatum?

Answer 10

neostriatum + paleostriatum

Question 11

what comprises the neostriatum?

Answer 11

striatum = putamen + caudate

Question 12

what comprises the paleostriatum?

Answer 12

pallidum

Question 13

what is the main input to the basal ganglia?

Answer 13

striatum

Question 14

what are the main outputs from the basal ganglia?

Answer 14

1. pallidum (internal) 2. substantia nigra (pars reticulata)

Question 15

where is the origin of the body loop? what is its function?

Answer 15

1. motor areas of cortex 2. internally generated movements, selective activation and inhibition of particular movements

Question 16

where is the origin of the oculomotor loop? what is its function?

Answer 16

1. frontal eye fields, supplementary eye fields 2. control of saccadic eye movements

Question 17

where is the origin of the prefrontal loop? what is its function?

Answer 17

1. dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 2. initiation and termination of cognitive processes (planning, attention, working memory)

Question 18

where is the origin of the limbic loop? what is its function?

Answer 18

1. anterior cingulate and orbital frontal cortex 2. regulation of emotional behavior and motivation

Question 19

what is the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease?

Answer 19

1. degeneration of dopaminergic projections to striatum from substantia nigra 2. accumulation of alpha synuclein (component of Lewy bodies)

Question 20

which NT is released by the subthalamic nucleus?

Answer 20

glutamate

Question 21

which NT is released by the caudate, putamen, and pallidum?

Answer 21

GABA