This is the introductory chapter to an edited volume comprising 18 chapters written by 38 specially selected authors covering the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry/pharmacology and behavioral aspects of GABA in the basal ganglia. In this chapter the various nuclei of the basal ganglia are defined and their cellular structure, connections and function reviewed in brief in order to provide an ori...

In the last years research on emotion focused on the role of amygdala-orbitofrontal loops in learning associations between internal states of the organism and external context, and in modulating choice behaviour. Amygdala is now thought to participate actively in current reward value-response learning. Furthermore, amygdala seems to act as an effector of choice behaviour elaboration in orbitofr...

Fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) control the output of the striatum by mediating feed-forward GABAergic inhibition of projection neurons. Their neuromodulation can therefore critically affect the operation of the basal ganglia. We studied the effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin), a neurotransmitter released in the striatum by fibres originating in the raphe nuclei, on FSIs recorded ...

cell types, one that innervates the song motor nucleus RA, and the other that innervates the basal ganglia homologue area X. Area X, the thalamic nucleus DLM and the anterior telencephalic nucleus LMAN form the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP; gray), which is implicated in auditory feedback and song perception, and which is essential to audition-guided vocal plasticity in juvenile and adult bir...

Background and aim: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in humans. Activation of Hedgehog (Hh) signal has a key role in development of BCC. The end result of Hedgehog signal are Gli proteing. Gli 1 is a member of this family which activates DNA transcription. Previous studies showed increased expression of Gli 1 in BCC.Materials and methods: In this study 38 pathologic samples ...

We continuously face the dilemma of choosing between actions that gather new information or actions that exploit existing knowledge. This "exploration-exploitation" trade-off depends on the environment: stability favors exploiting knowledge to maximize gains; volatility favors exploring new options and discovering new outcomes. Here we set out to reconcile recent evidence for dopamine's involve...

It has been suggested that the size of the nuclei of epithelial basal cells can be used in predicting the likelihood of malignant transformation of epithelium. This proposition was assessed in rat palatal epithelium after the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide had been applied to the epithelium for varying periods of time. No consistent alterations in basal cell nuclear size, including area, p...

ronal circuits is admittedly not well known. Single-cell recording may show several phases of inhibition-excitation or the reverse in response to afferent stimulation in the normal thalamus. This is a feature of many basal ganglia nuclei and does not preclude a global excitatory or inhibitory alteration occurring in pathological states. Overall, the evidence for increased basal ganglia output a...

A large corpus of research suggests that there are changes in the manner and degree to which the amygdala supports cognitive and emotional function across development. One possible basis for these developmental differences could be the maturation of amygdalar connections with the rest of the brain. Recent functional connectivity studies support this conclusion, but the structural connectivity o...

In this study an attempt was made to determine the position of the outlets and nuclei of the pharyngeal glands in four monhysterid genera. Five Eumonhystera spp., seven Monhystera spp., and eight Monhystrella spp. were studied under the light microscope. Longitudinal sections of an undescribed Monhystera sp. and cross sections of Geomonhystera disjuncta were also studied under the scanning and ...