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by the cerebellum is learned with experience.
4. The cerebellum functions with the cerebral cortex also helping to program in advance muscle
contractions required for smooth progression from a present rapid movement to the next, even
changing direction, in a fraction of a second.

8.5. Basal ganglia level.

The basal ganglia are essential to motor control because:

1. They help the cortex execute subconscious but learned patterns of movement and
2. They help plan multiple parallel and sequential patterns of movement that the mind must put
together to accomplish a purposeful task.

Among the motor patterns that require the basal ganglia are writing the alphabet, throwing a ball, and
typing. Also, the basal ganglia control dimensions of the patterns. At a still higher level of control is
another combined cerebral and basal ganglia circuit, beginning in the thinking processes of the
cerebrum to provide overall sequential steps of action for responding to each new situation.

The area that controls action start is called the limbic system of the brain, which contains elements
located beneath, anterior, and lateral to the thalamus and includes the hypothalamus, amygdala,
hippocampus, septal region anterior to the hypothalamus and thalamus, and even old regions of the
thalamus and cerebral cortex.

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