Which areas of the brain send information to the striatum?

The striatum, which serves as the primary input nucleus of the basal ganglia, receives information from several key areas of the brain:

• Cerebral Cortex: The majority of input to the striatum originates from various regions of the cerebral cortex. These connections are known as corticostriate fibers and utilize the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate.1
• Substantia Nigra: Located in the midbrain, the substantia nigra—specifically the pars compacta—sends dopaminergic projections to both the caudate nucleus and the putamen.12
• Thalamus: The striatum receives afferent fibers from the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus.1

Collectively, these diverse inputs allow the striatum to function as the receptive component of the corpus striatum, integrating information to help coordinate motor, limbic, and associative processes.31