Drawing Causal Links Between Striosomal Activity and Task Engagement Sponsored Content by TissueGnosticsFeb 5 2021 A judgment of the relative value of options is required for learning through affective responses. This kind of learning regards experiences as having a positive or negative valence (e.g., pleasure or fear, respectively). Learning these valence-based responses 1,2 has been linked to a cluster of neurons known as the striatum in the subcortical basal ganglia by several studies. The striatum is a key part of the brain’s motivation and movement control system and has been associated with a range of neurological diseases, including Huntington’s disease (HD) and Parkinson’s disease.