Term: Striatum

Definition: In mammals, lateral and medial ventricular ridges (ganglionic eminences) develop into the classical striatum and pallidum, respectively (see Alvarez-Bolado and Swanson 1996 for review). To simplify endbrain organization, we have placed all regions that appear to develop from the ventricular ridges into either the pallidum or striatum, broadly defined. In general, cortex projects to striatum (and sometimes pallidum) via excitatory inputs, striatum projects to pallidum via inhibitory inputs, and both striatum and pallidum generate inhibitory descending projections (Swanson 2000c; 2003a).

Nomenclature: Swanson-2004