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Related Concept Videos

Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay01:27

Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay

The thalamus, often called “the gateway to the cerebral cortex,” is vital in processing and directing sensory and motor signals throughout the brain. Almost all inputs destined for the cerebral cortex, except for olfactory signals, are relayed through the thalamus. The thalamus is  a sophisticated relay station, channeling information from various brain regions to the cerebral cortex, as well as a filter, prioritizing certain signals over others based on current physiological states or needs.
Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.
Brainstem01:19

Brainstem

The brainstem, located inferior to the brain and superior to the spinal cord, serves as a bridge between the cerebrum and the spinal cord. It plays a vital role in relaying information and controlling critical life functions. It comprises three primary regions: the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
The Midbrain
The midbrain is located beneath the diencephalon and connects the cerebrum with the lower parts of the brain. The cerebral peduncles are prominent midbrain structures that house the...

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Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats
08:30

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Published on: February 15, 2015

Canceling actions involves a race between basal ganglia pathways.

Robert Schmidt1, Daniel K Leventhal, Nicolas Mallet

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Nature Neuroscience
|July 16, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fast action stopping relies on basal ganglia pathways. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) signals stop cues, while the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) integrates this with movement signals to inhibit actions.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • Rapid behavioral inhibition is crucial for goal-directed actions.
  • The basal ganglia are implicated in action selection and cancellation.
  • Specific pathways within the basal ganglia are hypothesized to mediate reactive behavioral inhibition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of basal ganglia pathways in reactive action cancellation.
  • To compare neuronal activity in subthalamic nucleus (STN) and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) during a stop-signal task.
  • To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor gating in action inhibition.

Main Methods:

  • Performance of a stop-signal task in rats.
  • Electrophysiological recordings from STN and SNr neurons.
  • Computational modeling and simulations to analyze neural circuit dynamics.

Main Results:

  • STN neurons responded to stop cues with low latency, regardless of cancellation success.
  • SNr neurons showed differential responses, activating only during successful action cancellation.
  • Neural dynamics suggest a race between STN-driven excitation and striatal inhibition in SNr.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support race models of action cancellation.
  • Stopping requires timely transmission of stop-cue information from STN to SNr.
  • Sensorimotor gating in SNr is critical for successful behavioral inhibition.