Blog 3

 Hello

Today I will talk to you about physiology specifically the basal ganglia, these are clusters of neurons located deep in the brain. The basal ganglia help to initiate and smooth voluntary muscle movements, suppress involuntary movements and coordinate postural changes, they are also part of a parallel cortico-cortical signaling circuit. The associative circuits originating in the frontal cortex are involved in various mental activities such as receiving sensory signals, adapting movement from an emotional point of view, motivation, long-term planning.

 

It has several pathways that makes the circuit work in a wonderful way: dopamine pathways from the substantia nigra to the caudate nucleus and Putamen, gamma aminobutyric acid pathways better known as GABA going from the caudate nucleus, Putamen to the globus pallidus and substantia nigra, acetyl choline pathways from the cerebral cortex to the caudate nucleus and Putamen and last but not least the general pathways coming from the brainstem that secrete noradrenaline, serotonin and enkephalin.

 

A pathology that develops in this area is Parkinson's disease, the patient does not perform fine coordinated movements as the neurons degenerate and produce clumsy movements. For this pathology, a drug called L-dopa, a metabolic precursor of dopamine, was created to treat the symptoms.

Bibliography

Class material (PPT).