ALS is the most common motor neuron disease in adults and characterized by extensive corticospinal damage. Pathological studies also suggest basal ganglia damage, but this is not yet settled. We used texture and volumetric analyses to investigate possible abnormalities in BG of 32 ALS patients compared with 32 healthy controls. Our data confirm BG involvement, and suggest that texture abnormalities may precede true volumetric changes, emerging as a potential neuroimaging marker for ALS.