Technically, the basal ganglia are telencephalic nuclei that receive their major projections from neocortex. In current usage, however ‘basal ganglia’ means the caudate, putamen and globus pallidus nuclei, and also includes the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the substantia nigra (SN) even though these later two structures are not in the telencephalon, but rather in the diencephalon and mesencephalon respectively. Conversely, other large telencephalic nuclei, the nucleus accumbens (within the frontal lobe) and the amygdala (temporal lobe) are more associated with the limbic system and usually not included in the basal ganglia.
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