The basal ganglia help to regulate moods and to control impulsive outbursts, which people with ADD also struggle with.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Delivered from Distraction'

These are loosely grouped into the limbic system and the basal ganglia, although not everyone agrees what is what.

ECONOMIST: A history and geography of the brain

They say it might be possible to alter the signals from the basal ganglia works so the visual areas can work effectively.

BBC: Eye disorder secret uncovered

They suggest there is growing evidence the root for both conditions lies in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia.

BBC: writing

They found at least 5% lower concentrations of N-acetyl-aspartate in two key areas of the brain, the basal ganglia and frontal white matter.

BBC: Amphetamine brain damage measured

D2 is found in the frontal cortex (used in thinking), the temporal cortex (speech and motor functions) and the basal ganglia, which smooths out limb movements.

FORBES: Silencing the Voices

Now, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have suggested the condition could be caused by faulty signals from cells in an area of the brain called the basal ganglia.

BBC: Eye disorder secret uncovered

Although the neural pathways that encode habitual behavior appear to be located in deep brain structures known as the basal ganglia, it has been shown that the IL cortex is also necessary for such behaviors to develop.

FORBES: Could We One Day Switch Off Bad Habits in Our Brains?

Four different studies done in the past decade using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) all found a slight reduction in the size of four regions of the brain: the corpus callosum, the basal ganglia, the frontal lobes, and the cerebellar vermis.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Delivered from Distraction'

It is the limbic system, basal ganglia and cerebrum that do the interesting stuff that distinguishes mammalian brains from those of their reptilian ancestors.

ECONOMIST: A history and geography of the brain