Basal ganglia reign through downstream control of motor centers in midbrain and brain stem while updating cortex with efference copy information.

In this issue of Neuron, McElvain et al. (2021) show that the major output of the basal ganglia, the substantia nigra pars reticulata, targets no fewer than 42 midbrain and brainstem structures and conveys an efference copy of the downstream commands back via thalamus to the cortex and striatum.