Paleostriatum

Also called the globus pallidus, this is a pale-appearing spherical area in the brain. Globus is a Latin word for globe and pallidus refers to its pallor. The globus pallidus, or paleostriatum, is specifically part of what is called the lentiform nucleus which, in turn, is part of the striate body, a component of the basal ganglia, large masses of gray matter at the base (hence basal) of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. The globus pallidus was named the paleostriatum (the old stratum) because it was thought to have evolved before the neostriatum (the new stratum), a different part of the striate body of the brain.

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Term denoting the globus pallidus and expressing the hypothesis that this component of the striate body developed earlier in evolution than the “neostriatum” or striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) and that it is a diencephalic derivative. SEE ALSO: globus pallidus. [paleo- + L. striatum]

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pa·leo·stri·a·tum or Brit pal·aeo·stri·a·tum -strī-'āt-əm n, pl -ta -tə the phylogenetically older part of the corpus striatum consisting of the globus pallidus

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pa·leo·stri·a·tum (pa″le-o-stri-aґtəm) [paleo- + striatum] the phylogenetically older part of the corpus striatum represented by the globus pallidus. Cf. neostriatum. paleostriatal adj