This volume, The Basal Ganglia VII, is derived from the proceedings ofthe Seventh Triennial Meeting of the International Basal Ganglia Society (IBAGS). The Meeting was held from II - 15 February 2001 at The Copthorne Resort, Waitangi, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, the site of the signing of the Treaty ofWaitangi in 1840 and the traditional birth-place of the New Zealand Nation. As at previous Meetings, our aim was to hear and discuss new ideas and research developments on the basal ganglia and the implications of these findings for novel treatment strategies for basal ganglia disorders. The International Basal Ganglia Society (IBAGS) was founded in September 1983 when a small group of about 50 neuroscientists and clinicians with a passion for research on the basal ganglia met for a three day meeting in a small isolated seaside resort, Lome, 150km from Melbourne in Australia. The meeting was organised by John McKenzie and was so successful that the participants decided to establish IBAGS and to meet every 3 years at an isolated seaside resort in different countries of the world.