Putamen


 * "Putamen" is also a botanical term for the stone in a fruit, such as a peach.

The putamen is a structure in the middle of the brain, which, together with the caudate nucleus forms the dorsal striatum.

The putamen is a portion of the basal ganglia that forms the outermost part of the lenticular nucleus.

Function
It appears to play a role in reinforcement learning. It is coextensive with the insula, which has been found to contain mirror neurons.

Projections
The motor and somatosensory cortices, the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus, and the substantia nigra project to the putamen.

The putamen projects to premotor and supplementary motor areas of cortex via the globus pallidus and thalamus.