Caudate nucleus

Last revised by Yoshi Yu on 4 Mar 2023

Caudate nuclei are paired nuclei which along with the globus pallidus and putamen are referred to as the corpus striatum, and collectively make up the basal ganglia. The caudate nuclei have both motor and behavioral functions, in particular maintaining body and limb posture, as well as controlling approach-attachment behaviors, respectively 3

The caudate nucleus is located lateral to the lateral ventricles, with the head lateral to the frontal horn, and body lateral to the body of the lateral ventricle. The tail of the caudate nucleus terminates immediately above the temporal horn of the ventricle. It is bound laterally by the anterior crus of the internal capsule.

The head of the caudate nucleus is supplied by the recurrent artery of Heubner, a small branch from the A2 (sometimes the A1) segment of the anterior cerebral artery. The superior aspect of the head and the body of the caudate are supplied by the lenticulostriate perforators from the middle cerebral artery. The tail of the caudate is supplied by the anterior choroidal artery.

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