English to French Medical Medical (general) psychology

The basal ganglia are a group of related brain regions housed deep within the substance of the brain. From an evolutionary standpoint, the basal ganglia are considered primitive structures. Because of their primitive status, until recently, the basal ganglia have been largely ignored in theories of psychiatric illness. Once thought to be ***a simple relay station in the control of motor behavior***, it is now known that the basal ganglia function to integrate information converging from all over the brain. Dr. Judith L. Rapoport of the National Institute of Mental Health has proposed an elegant neurological model of OCD that takes into account both anatomical and clinical evidence. According to this model, the basal ganglia and its connections are turned on inappropriately in OCD. The result is the emergence of self-protective behaviors such as grooming or checking. These primitive behaviors, which are stored as preprogrammed routines in the basal ganglia, unfold uncontrollably outside the reach of brain areas that command reason.