is the thalamus part of the basal ganglia
Basal ganglia The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) is a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates including humans, which are situated at the base of the forebrain. Basal ganglia are strongly interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and brainstem, as well as several other brain areas. The basal ganglia are associated with a variety of functions including: control of voluntary motor movements, procedural learning, routine behaviors or "habits" such as teeth grinding, eye movements, cognition,[1] and emotion.[2]
Reward system The brain structures that compose the reward system are located primarily within the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop;[11] the basal ganglia portion of the loop drives activity within the reward system.[11] Most of the pathways that connect structures within the reward system are glutamatergic interneurons, GABAergic medium spiny neurons, and dopaminergic projection neurons,[11][12] although other types of projection neurons contribute (e.g., orexinergic projection neurons). The reward system includes the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum (i.e., the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle), dorsal striatum (i.e., the caudate nucleus and putamen), substantia nigra (i.e., the pars compacta and pars reticulata), prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus (particularly, the orexinergic nucleus in the lateral hypothalamus), thalamus (multiple nuclei), subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus (both external and internal), ventral pallidum, parabrachial nucleus, amygdala, and the remainder of the extended amygdala.[6][11][13][14][15] The dorsal raphe nucleus and cerebellum appear to modulate some forms of reward-related cognition (i.e., associative learning, motivational salience, and positive emotions) and behaviors as well.[16][17][18] The laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, pedunculopontine nucleus, and lateral habenula(both directly and indirectly via the rostromedial tegmental nucleus) are also capable of inducing aversive salience and incentive salience through their projections to the VTA.[19][20][21][22]