Neurotransmitters in the human and nonhuman primate basal ganglia.

In recent years, a number of new molecules, particularly peptides, have been identified as putative neurotransmitters. The basal ganglia, is especially rich in a number of classical transmitter molecules, amino acids and neuropeptides considered to function in neurotransmission. These include: the well-described terminal fields in the striatum which originate from the brain stem and contain the monoamines, dopamine and serotonin; amino acid containing axons projecting from the cortex and thalamus; striatal cholinergic and peptide-positive interneurons; and amino acid and peptide containing projection neurons to the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. Two amino acids, glutamate and aspartate, are considered to provide excitatory input to the striatum while gamma aminobutyric acid is thought to mediate inhibitory output. Neuropeptides which are richly concentrated in the basal ganglia include, enkephalin, dynorphin, substance P, somatostatin, neuropeptide Y and cholincystokinease. Changes in many of these peptide levels have recently been associated with a number of basal ganglia disorders.