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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Behav Processes. 2012 Mar 6;90(1):142–153. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.02.014

Figure 5.

Figure 5

A diagram of the neural circuitry involved in the interval timing component of the reward system. Multiple areas of the cerebral cortex, including the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and supplementary motor area (SMA) connect with the dorsal striatum (DS; both caudate, C, and putamen Pu). This system also contains the nigrostriatal connections from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) to the DS. The DS sends output through a direct and an indirect pathway to the thalamus (Thal) and then onto the motor cortex. The direct pathway carries straight through the substantia nigra pars compacta/internal segment of the globus pallidus (SNr/GPi) complex to the Thal. The indirect pathway passes through the external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) before joining with the SNr/GPi complex. The SNc connects to both the GPe and SNr/GPi.