Brain gets thoughtful reappraisal.

Two brain regions often associated solely with the control of muscle movement also help coordinate thinking, according to a report in the Oct. 21 SCIENCE. This supports the view of some researchers that malfunctions in these structures, the basal ganglia and the cerebellum, contribute to schizophrenia.

Frank A. Middleton and Peter L. Strick, both neuroscientists at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, injected a live strain of the herpes simplex virus into three monkeys at a forebrain site known to be involved in planning the order and timing of future behaviors. Five days later, the virus had moved through nerve connections to the basal ganglia and cerebellum at the back of the brain, indicating their involvement with the forebrain location.