In order to understand the physiological role of the caudate nucleus, we combine here our laboratory data on cats with reports of patients with selective damage to this nucleus. Cats with bilateral removal of the caudate nuclei showed a stereotyped behavior consisting of persistently approaching and then following a person, another cat, or any object, and attempting to contact the target. Simul...

BACKGROUND Mitochondrial disorders are clinical syndromes associated with mutations in the mitochondrial or nuclear genome that result in impaired oxidative phosphorylation and deficient energy production. Metabolic abnormalities in brain areas associated with cognitive functions could give rise to neuropsychiatric symptomatology. The aim of this study was to use single-voxel proton magnetic re...

Behavioral and biochemical studies have suggested that fetal striatal grafts in the adult rat neostriatum can reverse deficits induced by excitotoxic lesions of the host caudate tissue. In this study, fetal day 17-18 striatal grafts were examined at 2, 5-6, 12, and 44-48 weeks following their implantation into saline- or kainic acid-treated host caudate nucleus in order to compare the neuronal ...

Preliminary evidence revealed a decrease of regional cerebral blood flow in the thalamus and basal ganglia contralateral to the deficit and suggested that hysterical conversion deficits might entail a functional disorder in striatothalamocortical circuits. However, there is no systematic structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in the literature in patients with conversion disorder (CD...

It has been well established by recording, inactivation, and neuroanatomical studies that the caudate nucleus is important for the control of saccadic eye movements. However, until now, there has been little evidence that the caudate nucleus plays a role in smooth pursuit eye movements. In the present study, we physiologically identified the smooth pursuit subregion of the frontal eye field (FE...

It has been well established by recording, inactivation, and neuroanatomical studies that the caudate nucleus is important for the control of saccadic eye movements. However, until now, there has been little evidence that the caudate nucleus plays a role in smooth pursuit eye movements. In the present study, we physiologically identified the smooth pursuit subregion of the frontal eye field (FE...