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Caudate nucleus
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== Structure == [[File:Caudate nucleus.gif|left|thumb|Caudate nucleus within the skull]] Along with the [[putamen]], the caudate forms the [[dorsal striatum]], which is considered a single functional structure; anatomically, it is separated by a large white-matter tract, the [[internal capsule]], so it is sometimes also described as two structures—the medial dorsal striatum (the caudate) and the lateral dorsal striatum (the putamen). In this vein, the two are functionally distinct not because of structural differences, but merely because of the topographical distribution of function. The caudate nuclei are near the center of the brain, sitting astride the [[thalamus]]. There is a caudate nucleus in each [[Cerebral hemispheres|hemisphere]] of the brain. Each nucleus is C-shaped, with a wider "head" (''caput'' in Latin) at the front, tapering to a "body" (''corpus'') and a "tail" (''cauda''). Sometimes a part of the caudate nucleus is called the "knee" (''genu'').<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yeterian EH, Pandya DN | title = Corticostriatal connections of extrastriate visual areas in rhesus monkeys | journal = The Journal of Comparative Neurology | volume = 352 | issue = 3 | pages = 436–57 | date = February 1995 | pmid = 7706560 | doi = 10.1002/cne.903520309 | s2cid = 42928601 }}</ref> The caudate head receives its blood supply from the lenticulostriate artery; the tail of the caudate receives its blood supply from the anterior choroidal artery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radiopaedia.org/articles/cerebral-vascular-territories|title=Cerebral vascular territories - Radiology Reference Article - Radiopaedia.org|first=Donna|last=D'Souza|website=radiopaedia.org}}</ref> [[File:Caudate Nucleus Structural MRI.png|thumb|alt=This is a transverse view of the caudate nucleus from a structural MR image.|Transverse view of the caudate nucleus from a structural [[MRI|MR image]]]] The head and body of the caudate nucleus form part of the floor of the anterior horn of the [[lateral ventricle]]. The body travels briefly towards the back of the head; the tail then curves back toward the anterior, forming the roof of the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle. This means that a coronal section (on a plane parallel to the [[face]]) that cuts through the tail will also cross the body and head of the caudate nucleus. ===Neurochemistry=== The caudate is highly innervated by [[dopaminergic neurons]] that originate from the [[substantia nigra|substantia nigra pars compacta]] (SNc). The SNc is in the [[midbrain]] and contains cell projections to the caudate and [[putamen]], using the neurotransmitter [[dopamine]].<ref>{{cite web|last=McDougal|first=David|title=Substantia Nigra|url=http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/virtualbrain/BrainStem/20Substantia.html|access-date=5 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930042749/http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/virtualbrain/BrainStem/20Substantia.html|archive-date=30 September 2013}}</ref> There are also inputs from various [[association cortex|association cortices]].
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