Page "Striatum" Paragraph 24

In its present connotation, the term “ ventral striatum ” was introduced in 1975 by Heimer and Wilson to differentiate it from the dorsal, sensorimotor-related part of the striatum ( i. e., the caudate-putamen complex ).

This inclusion of ventrally located striatal tissue in a “ unified ” striatum, along with the recognition of connectionally associated pallidal elements in the substantia innominata and deep layers of the olfactory tubercle ( i. e., the ventral pallidum ), has had great impact on the functional-anatomical concept of the basal ganglia.

Whereas traditionally, the basal ganglia were thought to be primarily involved in sensory-motor functions, it has now become accepted that the basal ganglia, as a result of their involvement in a set of parallel, functionally segregated basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits, which primarily entertain the premotor and prefrontal cortical cortices, are also involved in cognitive and “ limbic ” functions.