Title: basal ganglia
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - basal ganglia
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.10453
Status: current

Definition
Complex structure at the base of the brain consisting of several groups of neurons, the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the globus pallidus, and the substantia nigra.

Note
These ganglia are involved in various functions, including voluntary motor movements and involuntary movements, such as tremors, bruxism (grinding the teeth), athetosis (involuntary writhing movements), and chorea (involuntary jerky movements).

Related Term
- neurons: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11012

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 729 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10453/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10453/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10453/xml

Citation: Citation: 'basal ganglia' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.10453
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-08-04T00:09:19+00:00