The subthalamic fasciculus is a bi-directional

nerve tract A nerve tract is a bundle of nerve fibers (axons) connecting Nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei of the central nervous system. In the peripheral nervous system, this is known as a nerve fascicle, and has associated nervous tissue, connective tissue. T ...

that interconnects the lateral globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus as part of the

indirect pathway The indirect pathway, sometimes known as the indirect pathway of movement, is a neuronal circuit through the basal ganglia and several associated nuclei within the central nervous system (CNS) which helps to prevent unwanted muscle contractions f ...

. The pallidal efferents are

GABAergic In molecular biology and physiology, something is GABAergic or GABAnergic if it pertains to or affects the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). For example, a synapse is GABAergic if it uses GABA as its neurotransmitter, and a GABAergic ...

, but also contain

enkephalin An enkephalin is a pentapeptide involved in regulating nociception (pain sensation) in the body. The enkephalins are termed endogenous ligands, as they are internally derived (and therefore endogenous) and bind as ligands to the body's opioid ...

. Its fibers interweave perpendicularly among the fibers of the

internal capsule The internal capsule is a paired white matter structure, as a two-way nerve tract, tract, carrying afferent nerve fiber, ascending and efferent nerve fiber, descending axon, fibers, to and from the cerebral cortex. The internal capsule is situate ...

References

External links

* http://isc.temple.edu/neuroanatomy/lab/atlas/dan1/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20071126015854/http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/med532/subthalamus.htm Basal ganglia connections Subthalamus {{Neuroanatomy-stub