Striatum
The striatum is a subcortical part of the brain consisting of the caudate nucleus and the putamen. It is part of the basal ganglia. The striatum and basal ganglia may be involved with a variety of cognitive processes, including aspects of motor control, and executive function.In humans the striatum is activated in the presence of stimuli associated with reward, but also in the presence of aversive, novel, unexpected or intense stimuli, and cues associated with such events. Recent fMRI evidence suggests that the common property linking these stimuli, to which the striatum is reacting, is saliency under the conditions of presentation. A number of other brain areas and circuits are also related to reward, including the nucleus accumbens and other frontal areas.
It connects to the substantia nigra via the nigrostriatal pathway.
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