Right Putamen

Overview

The bilateral Right Putamen, as defined in the Harvard-Oxford Subcortical atlas (maxprob thr25, 1 mm), is a paired subcortical gray matter structure within the dorsal striatum, located lateral to the globus pallidus and medial to the insular cortex, and forming part of the basal ganglia circuitry. It receives dense glutamatergic inputs from widespread cortical areas, particularly motor and premotor regions, and dopaminergic projections from the substantia nigra pars compacta, integrating these signals to modulate cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops involved in motor planning, initiation, execution, and habit learning, as well as aspects of reward-based and procedural learning. The putamen is characterized cytoarchitectonically by medium spiny GABAergic projection neurons and interneurons, and functionally participates in both motor and non-motor domains, with dysfunction implicated in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and Huntington’s disease, as well as certain neuropsychiatric conditions.
Putamen

The bilateral right putamen, as defined in the Harvard-Oxford subcortical atlas, has been implicated in numerous genetic studies linking striatal structure and function to neuropsychiatric and behavioral traits. Large-scale GWAS and imaging genetics consortia (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) have identified common variants in and near genes such as DRD2, FOXP2, BDNF, PDE4D, and multiple glutamatergic and synaptic plasticity loci that associate with putamen volume and activity, often overlapping with dopaminergic and corticostriatal signaling pathways. Polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder have shown correlations with putamen morphology and functional connectivity, and specific loci (e.g., CACNA1C, GRM3, and other calcium channel and synaptic genes) have been linked to altered striatal measures. GWAS of Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and other movement disorders highlight variants affecting nigrostriatal dopamine transmission and basal ganglia circuitry, with structural and functional changes in the putamen mediating some genetic risk. Additionally, genetic studies of substance use (alcohol, nicotine, and stimulants), impulsivity, and reward-related traits repeatedly implicate putamen-related dopaminergic genes and striatal regulatory loci, while variants influencing general cognitive ability, motor skills, and habit learning also show associations with putamen metrics, underscoring this region’s central role as a convergent hub for diverse genetically influenced brain and behavioral phenotypes.

Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).

Region ID: 17
Hemisphere: bilateral
Atlas: HarvardOxford sub maxprob thr25 1mm

Right Putamen – Black Background (Full Brain)

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Right Putamen – White Background (Full Brain)

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Triplanar View – T1 Background

Triplanar View – Ghost Brain