The putamen (/pjuˈteɪmən/; from Latin, meaning "nutshell") is a subcortical nucleus with a rounded structure, in the basal ganglia nuclear group.

Through various pathways, the putamen is connected to the substantia nigra, the globus pallidus, the claustrum, and the thalamus, in addition to many regions of the cerebral cortex.

A primary function of the putamen is to regulate movements at various stages such as in preparation and execution; and to influence various types of learning.

[1] Most MRI research was focused broadly on the basal ganglia as a whole, for reasons such as poor resolution or hemorrhage within the putamen.

In the 1970s, the first single-unit recordings were carried out with monkeys, monitoring pallidal neuronal activity related to movement.

The caudate and putamen contain the same types of neurons and circuits – many neuroanatomists consider the dorsal striatum to be a single structure, divided into two parts by a large fiber tract, the internal capsule, passing through the middle.

Unlike the thalamus, which has broad reciprocal connectivity, cortical projections with the putamen are afferent, thus sending information as opposed to receiving it.

When a cell body of a neuron (in the putamen or caudate nuclei) fires an action potential, dopamine is released from the presynaptic terminal.

[8] Another study was done to investigate movement extent and speed using PET mapping of regional cerebral blood flow in 13 humans.

[9] One study was done in order to specifically investigate how the basal ganglia influences the learning of sequential movements.

This shows that different areas of the striatum are utilized when performing various aspects of the learning of sequential movements.

Implicit learning is a passive process where people are exposed to information and acquire knowledge through exposure.

Although the exact mechanisms are not known, it is clear that dopamine and tonically active neurons play a key role here.

Information-integration tasks are ones wherein the accuracy is maximized when information from two sources are integrated at a pre-decisional stage, which follows a procedural-based system.

For ruled-based testing, these samples were used to construct lines of various length and orientation that fell into these four separate categories.

After statistical testing, it was also hypothesized that the brain began using information-integration techniques to solve the rule-based learning tasks.

[13] Tentative studies have suggested that the putamen may play a role in the so-called "hate circuit" of the brain.

The activity in subcortical areas of the brain implied that the "hate circuit" involves the superior frontal gyrus, the putamen and the insula.

[14] It has been theorized that the "putamen plays a role in the perception of contempt and disgust, and may be part of the motor system that's mobilized to take action."

[17] Parkinson's disease is the slow and steady loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta.

In Parkinson's disease the putamen plays a key role because its inputs and outputs are interconnected to the substantia nigra and the globus pallidus.

Variation is primarily related to structural connectivity patterns, while somatotopic organization principles are retained.

Primate research since the 1980s through to the present has established that cortical regions related to higher-order cognition primarily send afferent neurons to the rostral-most portion of the putamen, while the remainder of this structure in primates primarily serves sensorimotor functions and is densely interconnected with primary and supplementary motor regions.