The basal ganglia influence movement, cognition, and emotion through their interactions with the cerebral cortex. In primates, distinct regions of the basal ganglia receive inputs from cerebral cortical areas that are involved in different behavioral functions. Functionally specific information is carried back to the cerebral cortex through topographically organized basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits. The closed-loop organization of basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits provides the neural substrate for basal ganglia contributions to a wide array of normal and abnormal behaviors. In this talk, I will describe emerging neuroanatomical evidence for a specific pattern of interactions between functionally segregated basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits and their implications for the emotional regulation of behaviors and the pathophysiology of basal ganglia disorders.