2021/04/21 by Connor D. Courtney, Courtney, Connor D., Arin Pamukcu +3
Medicine · Neuroscience · #FOS: Biological sciences #Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases #Neurological disorders and treatments #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2104.10795
openalex publication_date 2021/04/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The globus pallidus (GPe) of the basal ganglia has been underappreciated for decades due to poor understanding of its cells and circuits. The advent of molecular tools has sparked a resurgence in interest in the GPe. Here, we review a recent flurry of publications that has unveiled the complexity of the molecular landscape and cellular composition within the GPe. These discoveries have revealed that GPe neurons display a number of circuit features that do not conform to the traditional views of the basal ganglia. Consistent with its broad interconnectivity across the brain, emerging evidence suggests that the GPe plays multifaceted roles in both motor and non-motor functions. Altogether, recent data highlight cellular and functional diversity within the GPe and prompt new proposals for computational rules of the basal ganglia.