Motor control by the basal ganglia

Abstract

The cerebral cortex controls cognitive and voluntary process of movements. The brainstem and spinal cord are involved in the execution of innately acquired motor patterns such as postural reflexes, muscle tone regulation and locomotion. Cortico-reticular projections arising from the motor cortical areas contribute to the postural control that precedes the voluntary movement process. The basal ganglia cooperatively regulates the activities of the cerebral cortex and the brainstem-spinal cord by its strong inhibitory and dis-inhibitory effects upon these target structures so that goal-directed movements could be appropriately performed. We propose that basal ganglia disfunction, including the abnormality in the dopaminergic projection system, may disturb the cooperative regulation, resulting in motor deficiencies expressed in basal diseases.