The role of ventral pallidum in the basal ganglia curcuit.

Abstract

The basal ganglia are important neural substrates that control decision making and cognitive learning, and involve the pathophysiology of mental disorders. We have an interest in the role of ventral pallidum in the basal ganglia functions and dysfunctions, because left pallidum is enlarged in schizophrenic patients. We have demonstrated that specific stimulation of preproenkephalin‐positive neurons in the ventral pallidum impaired inhibitory avoidance learning, but not reward learning. We also showed that preproenkephalin mRNA is predominantly expressed in GABAergic neurons in the ventral pallidum. Further analyses of neural circuit mechanisms of the ventral pallidum in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia are required.