The caudate nucleus is one of the structures that make up the

corpus striatum The striatum, or corpus striatum (also called the striate nucleus), is a nucleus (a cluster of neurons) in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. The striatum is a critical component of the motor and reward systems; receives glutamat ...

, which is a component of the

basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an extern ...

in the

human brain The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of the ...

. While the caudate nucleus has long been associated with motor processes due to its role in

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, it plays important roles in various other nonmotor functions as well, including

procedural learning Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory (unconscious, long-term memory) which aids the performance of particular types of tasks without conscious awareness of these previous experiences. Procedural memory guides the processes we perform, ...

associative learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learnin ...

and

inhibitory control Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process – and, more specifically, an executive function – that permits an individual to inhibit their impulses and natural, habitual, or dominant behavioral res ...

of action, among other functions. The caudate is also one of the brain structures which compose the

reward system The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and class ...

and functions as part of the cortico–

–

thalamic The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all directions, ...

loop.

Structure

Together with the

putamen The putamen (; from Latin, meaning "nutshell") is a round structure located at the base of the forebrain (telencephalon). The putamen and caudate nucleus together form the dorsal striatum. It is also one of the structures that compose the basal n ...

, the caudate forms the

dorsal striatum The striatum, or corpus striatum (also called the striate nucleus), is a nucleus (a cluster of neurons) in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. The striatum is a critical component of the motor and reward systems; receives glutamate ...

, which is considered a single functional structure; anatomically, it is separated by a large white matter tract, the

internal capsule The internal capsule is a white matter structure situated in the inferomedial part of each cerebral hemisphere of the brain. It carries information past the basal ganglia, separating the caudate nucleus and the thalamus from the putamen and the g ...

, so it is sometimes also referred to as two structures: the medial dorsal striatum (the caudate) and the lateral dorsal striatum (the putamen). In this vein, the two are functionally distinct not as a result of structural differences, but merely due to the topographical distribution of function. The caudate nuclei are located near the center of the brain, sitting astride the

thalamus The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all directions, ...

. There is a caudate nucleus within each

hemisphere Hemisphere refers to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemisphere ** Land and water hemispheres * A half of the (geocentric) celestia ...

of the brain. Individually, they resemble a C-shape structure with a wider "head" (''caput'' in Latin) at the front, tapering to a "body" (''corpus'') and a "tail" (''cauda''). Sometimes a part of the caudate nucleus is referred to as the "knee" (''genu''). The caudate head receives its blood supply from the lenticulostriate artery while the tail of the caudate receives its blood supply from the anterior choroidal artery. Caudate Nucleus Structural MRI

The head and body of the caudate nucleus form part of the floor of the anterior horn of the

lateral ventricle The lateral ventricles are the two largest ventricular system, ventricles of the brain and contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Each cerebral hemisphere contains a lateral ventricle, known as the left or right ventricle, respectively. Each lateral ...

. After the body travels briefly towards the back of the head, the tail curves back toward the anterior, forming the roof of the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle. This means that a coronal (on a plane parallel to the

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

) section that cuts through the tail will also cross the body and head of the caudate nucleus.

Neurochemistry

The caudate is highly innervated by

dopaminergic neurons Dopaminergic cell groups, DA cell groups, or dopaminergic nuclei are collections of neurons in the central nervous system that synthesize the neurotransmitter dopamine. In the 1960s, dopaminergic neurons or ''dopamine neurons'' were first ident ...

that originate from the

substantia nigra pars compacta The pars compacta (SNpc) is a portion of the ''substantia nigra'', located in the midbrain. It is formed by dopaminergic neurons and located medial to the pars reticulata. Parkinson's disease is characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons ...

(SNc). The SNc is located in the

midbrain The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek ''mesos'', " ...

and contains cell projections to the caudate and

, utilizing the neurotransmitter

dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...

. There are also additional inputs from various association cortices.

Motor functions

Spatial mnemonic processing

The caudate nucleus integrates spatial information with motor behavior formulation. Selective impairment of

spatial working memory In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Sp ...

in subjects with

and the knowledge of the disease's impact on the amount of

supplied to the

striatum The striatum, or corpus striatum (also called the striate nucleus), is a nucleus (a cluster of neurons) in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. The striatum is a critical component of the motor and reward systems; receives glutamate ...

have linked the caudate nucleus to spatial and nonspatial mnemonic processing. Spatially dependent motor preparation has been linked to the caudate nucleus through event-related

fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...

analysis techniques. Activity in the caudate nucleus was demonstrated to be greater during tasks featuring spatial and motoric memory demands than those that involved nonspatial tasks. Specifically,

activity has been observed, via

studies of delayed recognition, to be greater in the caudate nucleus when the activity immediately preceded a motor response. These results indicate that the caudate nucleus could be involved in coding a motor response. With this in mind, the caudate nucleus could be involved in the recruitment of the motor system to support working memory performance by the mediation of sensory-motor transformations.

Directed movements

The caudate nucleus contributes importantly to body and limbs posture and the speed and accuracy of directed movements. Deficits in posture and accuracy during paw usage tasks were observed following the removal of caudate nuclei in felines. A delay in initiating performance and the need to constantly shift body position were both observed in cats following partial removal of the nuclei. Following the application of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

to the caudate nucleus and the resulting lesions produced, a "leaping or forward movement" was observed in monkeys. Due to its association with damage to the caudate, this movement demonstrates the inhibitory nature of the caudate nucleus. The "motor release" observed as a result of this procedure indicates that the caudate nucleus inhibits the tendency for an animal to move forward without resistance.

Cognitive functions

Goal-directed action

A review of neuroimaging studies, anatomical studies of caudate connectivity, and behavioral studies reveals a role for the caudate in executive functioning. A study of Parkinson's patients (see below) may also contribute to a growing body of evidence. A two-pronged approach of neuroimaging (including

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

and

) and anatomical studies expose a strong relationship between the caudate and cortical areas associated with executive functioning: "non-invasive measures of anatomical and functional connectivity in humans demonstrate a clear link between the caudate and executive frontal areas." Meanwhile, behavioral studies provide another layer to the argument: recent studies suggest that the caudate is fundamental to goal-directed action, that is, "the selection of behavior based on the changing values of goals and a knowledge of which actions lead to what outcomes." One such study presented rats with levers that triggered the release of a cinnamon flavored solution. After the rats learned to press the lever, the researchers changed the value of the outcome (the rats were taught to dislike the flavor either by being given too much of the flavor, or by making the rats ill after drinking the solution) and the effects were observed. Normal rats pressed the lever less frequently, while rats with lesions in the caudate did not suppress the behavior as effectively. In this way, the study demonstrates the link between the caudate and goal-directed behavior; rats with damaged caudate nuclei had difficulty assessing the changing value of the outcome. In a 2003-human behavioral study, a similar process was repeated, but the decision this time was whether or not to trust another person when money was at stake. While here the choice was far more complex––the subjects were not simply asked to press a lever, but had to weigh a host of different factors––at the crux of the study was still behavioral selection based on changing values of outcomes. In short, neuroimagery and anatomical studies support the assertion that the caudate plays a role in executive functioning, while behavioral studies deepen our understanding of the ways in which the caudate guides some of our decision-making processes.

Memory

The dorsal-prefrontal cortex subcortical loop involving the caudate nucleus has been linked to deficits in working memory, specifically in

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

patients. Functional imaging has shown activation of this subcortical loop during working memory tasks in primates and healthy human subjects. The caudate may be affiliated with deficits involving working memory from before illness onset as well. Caudate nucleus volume has been found to be inversely associated with perseverative errors on spatial working memory tasks. The

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex verteb ...

sends direct projections to the caudate nucleus. Both the

and the caudate nucleus have direct and indirect projections to the

hippocampus The hippocampus (via Latin from Greek , 'seahorse') is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, a ...

. The influence of the

on memory processing in the caudate nucleus has been demonstrated with the finding that lesions involving the connections between these two structures "block the memory-enhancing effects of

oxotremorine Oxotremorine is a drug that acts as a selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist. Oxotremorine produces ataxia, tremor and spasticity, similar to those symptoms seen in Parkinsonism, and has thus become a research tool in experimental s ...

infused into the caudate nucleus". In a study involving rats given water-maze training, the caudate nucleus was discovered to enhance memory of visually cued training after

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

was infused post-training into the caudate.

Learning

In a 2005 study, subjects were asked to learn to categorize visual stimuli by classifying images and receiving feedback on their responses. Activity associated with successful classification learning (correct categorization) was concentrated to the body and tail of the caudate, while activity associated with feedback processing (the result of incorrect categorization) was concentrated to the head of the caudate.

Sleep

Bilateral lesions in the head of the caudate nucleus in cats were correlated with a decrease in the duration of deep

slow wave sleep Slow-wave sleep (SWS), often referred to as deep sleep, consists of stage three of non-rapid eye movement sleep. It usually lasts between 70 and 90 minutes and takes place during the first hours of the night. Initially, SWS consisted of both St ...

during the sleep-wakefulness cycle. With a decrease in total volume of deep slow wave sleep, the transition of

short-term memory Short-term memory (or "primary" or "active memory") is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in an active, readily available state for a short interval. For example, short-term memory holds a phone number that has just been recit ...

long-term memory Long-term memory (LTM) is the stage of the Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model in which informative knowledge is held indefinitely. It is defined in contrast to short-term and working memory, which persist for only about 18 to 30 seconds. Long-t ...

may also be affected negatively. However, the effects of caudate nuclei removal on the sleep-wakefulness pattern of cats have not been permanent. Normalization has been discovered after a period of three months following caudate nuclei

ablation Ablation ( la, ablatio – removal) is removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosion, erosive processes or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, and include spacecraft materi ...

. This discovery could be due to the inter-related nature of the roles of the caudate nucleus and the

frontal cortex The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a groove betwe ...

in controlling levels of

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

activation. The cats with caudate removal, although permanently hyperactive, had a significant decrease in

rapid eye movement sleep Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, characterized by random rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream viv ...

(REMS) time that only lasted for about two months. However, afrontal cats had a permanent decrease in REMS time and only a temporary period of hyperactivity. Contrasting with associations between "deep", REM sleep and the caudate nucleus, a study involving

EEG Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...

and

measures during human sleep cycles has indicated that the caudate nucleus demonstrates reduced activity during non-REM sleep across all sleep stages. Additionally, studies of human caudate nuclei volume in

congenital central hypoventilation syndrome Central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) is a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes ineffective breathing, apnea, or respiratory arrest during sleep (and during wakefulness in severe cases). CHS can either be congenital (CCHS) or acquired ( ...

(CCHS) subjects established a correlation between CCHS and a significant reduction in left and right caudate volume. CCHS is a genetic disorder that affects the

sleep cycle The sleep cycle is an oscillation between the slow-wave and REM (paradoxical) phases of sleep. It is sometimes called the ultradian sleep cycle, sleep–dream cycle, or REM-NREM cycle, to distinguish it from the circadian alternation between s ...

due to a reduced drive to breathe. Therefore, the caudate nucleus has been suggested to play a role in human sleep cycles.

Emotion

The caudate nucleus has been implicated in responses to visual beauty, and has been suggested as one of the "neural correlates of romantic love". Approach-attachment behavior and affect are also controlled by the caudate nucleus. Cats with bilateral removal of the caudate nuclei persistently approached and followed objects, attempting to contact the target, while exhibiting a friendly disposition by the elicitation of treading of the forelimbs and purring. The magnitude of the behavioral responses was correlated to the extent of the removal of the nuclei. Reports of human patients with selective damage to the caudate nucleus show unilateral caudate damage resulting in loss of drive, obsessive-compulsive disorder, stimulus-bound perseverative behavior, and hyperactivity. Most of these deficits can be classified as relating to approach-attachment behaviors, from approaching a target to romantic love.

Language

Neuroimaging studies reveal that people who can communicate in multiple languages activate exactly the same brain regions regardless of the language. A 2006 publication studies this phenomenon and identifies the caudate as a center for language control. In perhaps the most illustrative case, a trilingual subject with a lesion to the caudate was observed. The patient maintained language comprehension in her three languages, but when asked to produce language, she involuntarily switched between the three languages. In short, "these and other findings with bilingual patients suggest that the left caudate is required to monitor and control lexical and language alternatives in production tasks." Local shape deformations of the medial surface of the caudate have been correlated with verbal learning capacity for females and the number of perseverance errors on spatial and verbal fluency working memory tasks for males. Specifically, a larger caudate nucleus volume has been linked with better verbal fluency performance. A neurological study of

glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

showed a significant reduction in activity in the left caudate nucleus during glossolalia compared to singing in English.

Threshold control

The brain contains large collections of neurons reciprocally connected by

excitatory synapses An excitatory synapse is a synapse in which an action potential in a presynaptic neuron increases the probability of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell. Neurons form networks through which nerve impulses travel, each neuron oft ...

, thus forming large network of elements with

positive feedback Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in the ...

. It is difficult to see how such a system can operate without some mechanism to prevent explosive activation. There is some indirect evidence that the caudate may perform this regulatory role by measuring the general activity of

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...

and controlling the

threshold potential In electrophysiology, the threshold potential is the critical level to which a membrane potential must be depolarized to initiate an action potential. In neuroscience, threshold potentials are necessary to regulate and propagate signaling in both ...

Clinical significance

Alzheimer's disease

A 2013 study has suggested a link between

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

patients and the caudate nucleus. MRI images were used to estimate the volume of caudate nuclei in patients with Alzheimer's and normal volunteers. The study found a "significant reduction in the caudate volume" in Alzheimer's patients when compared to the normal volunteers. While the correlation does not indicate causation, the finding may have implications for early diagnosis.

Parkinson's disease

is likely the most studied basal ganglia disorder. Patients with this progressive neurodegenerative disorder often first experience movement related symptoms (the three most common being tremors at rest, muscular rigidity, and

akathisia Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a subjective feeling of inner restlessness accompanied by mental distress and an inability to sit still. Usually, the legs are most prominently affected. Those affected may fidget, rock back and ...

) which are later combined with various cognitive deficiencies, including dementia. Parkinson's disease depletes dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal tract, a dopamine pathway that is connected to the head of the caudate. As such, many studies have correlated the loss of dopaminergic neurons that send axons to the caudate nucleus and the degree of dementia in Parkinson's patients. And while a relationship has been drawn between the caudate and Parkinson's motor deficiencies, the caudate has also been associated with Parkinson's concomitant cognitive impairments. One review contrasts the performance of patients with Parkinson's and patients that strictly had frontal-lobe damage in the

Tower of London test The Tower of London test is a test used in applied clinical neuropsychology for the assessment of executive functioning specifically to detect deficits in planning, which may occur due to a variety of medical and neuropsychiatric conditions. It is ...

. The differences in performance between the two types of patients (in a test that, in short, requires subjects to select appropriate intermediate goals with a larger goal in mind) draws a link between the caudate and goal-directed action. However, the studies are not conclusive. While the caudate has been associated with executive function (see "Goal-Directed Action"), it remains "entirely unclear whether executive deficits in arkinson's patientsreflect pre-dominantly their cortical or subcortical damage."

Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...

, a genetic mutation occurs in the ''HTT'' gene which encodes for Htt protein. The Htt protein interacts with over 100 other proteins, and appears to have multiple biological functions. The behavior of this mutated protein is not completely understood, but it is toxic to certain cell types, particularly in the brain. Early damage is most evident in the

, but as the disease progresses, other areas of the brain are also more conspicuously affected. Early symptoms are attributable to functions of the striatum and its cortical connections—namely control over movement, mood and higher cognitive function.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

A 2002 study draws a relationship between caudate asymmetry and symptoms related to

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

. The authors used MR images to compare the relative volumes of the caudate nuclei (as the caudate is a bilateral structure), and drew a connection between any asymmetries and symptoms of ADHD: "The degree of caudate asymmetry significantly predicted cumulative severity ratings of inattentive behaviors." This correlation is congruent with previous associations of the caudate with attentional functioning. A more recent 2018 study replicated these findings, and demonstrated that the caudate asymmetries related to ADHD were more pronounced in the dorsal medial regions of the caudate.

Schizophrenia

The volume of white matter in the caudate nucleus has been linked with patients diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. A 2004 study uses

magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...

to compare the relative volume of white matter in the caudate among schizophrenia patients. Those patients with the disorder have "smaller absolute and relative volumes of white matter in the caudate nucleus than healthy subjects."

Bipolar type I

A 2014 study found Type I Bipolar patients had relatively higher volume of gray and white matter in the caudate nucleus and other areas associated with reward processing and decision making, compared to controls and Bipolar II subjects. Overall the amount of gray and white matter in Bipolar patients was lower than controls.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

It has been theorized that the caudate nucleus may be dysfunctional in persons with

obsessive compulsive disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Fixation (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Idée fixe (psychology), a preo ...

(OCD), in that it may perhaps be unable to properly regulate the transmission of information regarding worrying events or ideas between the

and the

orbitofrontal cortex The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes of the brain which is involved in the cognitive process of decision-making. In non-human primates it consists of the association cortex areas Brodmann area 11, 12 ...

. A

neuroimaging Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incre ...

study with

positron emission tomography Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in Metabolism, metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including bl ...

found that the right caudate nucleus had the largest change in glucose metabolism after patients had been treated with

paroxetine Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder ...

. Recent SDM meta-analyses of

voxel-based morphometry Voxel-based morphometry is a computational approach to neuroanatomy that measures differences in local concentrations of brain tissue, through a voxel-wise comparison of multiple brain images. In traditional morphometry, volume of the whole brai ...

studies comparing people with OCD and healthy controls have found people with OCD to have increased

grey matter Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distingui ...

volumes in bilateral lenticular nuclei, extending to the caudate nuclei, while decreased grey matter volumes in bilateral dorsal medial frontal/

anterior cingulate In the human brain, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the frontal part of the cingulate cortex that resembles a "collar" surrounding the frontal part of the corpus callosum. It consists of Brodmann areas 24, 32, and 33. It is involved i ...

gyri. These findings contrast with those in people with other anxiety disorders, who evince decreased (rather than increased)

volumes in bilateral

lenticular Lenticular is an adjective often relating to lenses. It may refer to: * A term used with two meanings in botany: see * Lenticular cloud, a lens-shaped cloud * Lenticular galaxy, a lens-shaped galaxy * Lenticular (geology), adjective describing a ...

/ caudate nuclei, while also decreased grey matter volumes in bilateral dorsal medial frontal/

gyri.

Additional images

File:Gray741.png, Two views of a model of the

(on the right side of the brain): A,

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

aspect; B, medial aspect. File:Gray743.png, Coronal section through anterior cornua of lateral ventricles. File:Gray744.png, Coronal section of brain through anterior commissure. File:Gray682.png, Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view. The caudate nucleus can be seen above the optic nerve. File:Gray683.png, Dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view. File:Gray684.png, Deep dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view. File:Gray685.png, Deep dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view. File:Gray689.png, Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Ventral view. File:Gray691.png, Dissection of brain-stem. Dorsal view. File:Gray737.png, Central part and anterior and posterior cornua of lateral ventricles exposed from above. File:Slide2gg.JPG, Caudate nucleus File:Slide13kk.JPG, Caudate nucleus File:Slide2GRE.JPG, Ventricles of brain and basal ganglia. Superior view, horizontal section, deep dissection File:Slide3GRE.JPG, Ventricles of brain and basal ganglia. Close-up of preceding image File:Caudate_-_DK_ATLAS_43.png, Caudate nuclei along with other subcortical structures, in glass brain File:Caudate nucleus coronal sections.gif, Caudate nucleus highlighted in green on coronal T1 MRI images File:Caudate nucleus sagittal sections.gif, Caudate nucleus highlighted in green on sagittal T1 MRI images File:Caudate nucleus transversal sections.gif, Caudate nucleus highlighted in green on transversal T1 MRI images

References

External links

*
Diagram at uni-tuebingen.de

NIF Search - Caudate Nucleus
via the

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