Function and Dysfunction in the Basal Ganglia

Although the basal ganglia have been studied for many years, their functions have been only recently understood. In recent years the development of effective treatments for Parkinson's disease, a condition in which the basal ganglia are primarily affected by a degenerative process, and the realization that the subcortical regions of the brain have an important role in cognitive functions and the expression of mood, have greatly stimulated interest and research in this part of the brain. Reports on the proceedings of a conference on basal ganglia held in Leeds in the summer of 1987, which brought together research scientists, clinicians, pharmacologists, pathologists and others from Europe, North America and further afield.