1. Describe the nuclei that compose the basal ganglia Striatum Caudate Nucleus Putamen Globus Pallidus 2.

Explain the basic function of the basal ganglia Control initial movement Control smooth transition between two movements. 3. Identify the location of the basal ganglia 4. Describe the basic circuitry of the direct and indirect pathways 5. Describe the functions of the direct and indirect pathways Direct= excitation Indirect=inhibition 6. Describe the neurotransmitters involved at critical points in the basic circuitry 7. Recognize and describe the most frequent movement disorders 8. Correlate specific movement disorders with pathology of specific portions of the basal ganglia 9. Recognize and describe the characteristics of 3 basal ganglia related diseases: Parkinsons, Huntingtons and hemiballismus Lentiform Nucleus

Parkinsons Disease

Resting tremor Bradykinesia Slowness of movement Rigidity of extremities Minimal facial expression masked facies Shuffling gait with decreased associated movements such as

Loss of dopaminergic neurons Substantia nigra

Huntingtons Disease

Hemiballismus

arm swinging In some cases these symptoms are also associated with dementia -Gradual and progressive behavioral, cognitive symptoms and choreic movements beginning in the forth or fifth decade of life -Death occurs within 10 to 20 years -Inherited as an autosomal dominant disorder -The defective gene is located in the short arm of chromosome 4 and encodes for the protein huntingtin -The gene includes multiple tandem repeats of the trinucleotide CAG encoding glutamine -Abnormal movements of the proximal limb muscles -The amplitude of the movement is larger than in choreic movements

Atrophy of the striatum

Subthalamic nucleus