The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia
By Hagai Bergman
Recommended on: 21st February 2025
The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia by Hagai Bergman. If you’ve ever wondered about the backstage crew running the show of your everyday thoughts and actions, The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia is a fascinating peek behind the curtain. Hagai Bergman takes readers deep into this underappreciated yet essential brain region, revealing its role in one of our most crucial learning systems—habitual, non-conscious learning.
One of the delights of this book is Bergman’s use of metaphor, making the complexity of basal ganglia circuits surprisingly intuitive. My favorite? The striatum as the melody of a piano, and the subthalamic nucleus as the pedal—beautifully illustrating how these structures interact to shape our behavior. The striatum, the brain’s primary hub for processing incoming information, is like the pianist’s hands on the keys, selecting and refining actions based on experience. Meanwhile, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) acts like the sustain pedal, momentarily amplifying or inhibiting actions, helping to fine-tune movement and decision-making by adding a crucial layer of control. Too much or too little engagement of these structures, and the melody—our fluid execution of learned behaviors—gets disrupted.
The basal ganglia, often relegated to discussions of movement disorders, emerge in this book as key players in decision-making, learning, and even emotion. Bergman’s insights help illuminate how we automate skills—from playing an instrument to making split-second choices—without needing conscious oversight. If you’re fascinated by neuroscience, psychology, or just how your brain quietly learns without you realizing it, The Hidden Life of the Basal Ganglia is a deeply rewarding read. Highly recommended!
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