The basal ganglia and related nuclei are considered as one of three types of nuclei. Input nuclei receive signals from various sources in the brain. Output nuclei send signals from the basal ganglia to the thalamus. Intrinsic nuclei relay nerve signals and information between the input nuclei and output nuclei. The basal ganglia receive information from the cerebral cortex and thalamus through input nuclei. After the information has been processed, it is passed along to intrinsic nuclei and sent to output nuclei. From the output nuclei, the information is sent to the thalamus. The thalamus passes the information on to the cerebral cortex. The basal ganglia are a different portion of the motor system, they look as if it run in routine with the pyramidal motor pathway. The path that sends signals directly along the nerve tracts descends from the cerebral cortex to the motor neurons that activate skeletal muscles. The basal ganglia refine