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The hypothalamus is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is located below the thalamus and is part of the limbic system. In the terminology of neuroanatomy, it forms the ventral part of the diencephalon. All vertebrate brains contain a hypothalamus. In humans, it is the size of an almond.
The brainstem is the stalk-like part of the brain that interconnects the cerebrum and diencephalon with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is continuous with the thalamus of the diencephalon through the tentorial notch.
In neuroanatomy, the lateral geniculate nucleus is a structure in the thalamus and a key component of the mammalian visual pathway. It is a small, ovoid, ventral projection of the thalamus where the thalamus connects with the optic nerve. There are two LGNs, one on the left and another on the right side of the thalamus. In humans, both LGNs have six layers of neurons alternating with optic fibers.
The raphe nuclei are a moderate-size cluster of nuclei found in the brain stem. They have 5-HT1 receptors which are coupled with Gi/Go-protein-inhibiting adenyl cyclase. They function as autoreceptors in the brain and decrease the release of serotonin. The anxiolytic drug Buspirone acts as partial agonist against these receptors. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are believed to act in these nuclei, as well as at their targets.
The nucleus ambiguus is a group of large motor neurons, situated deep in the medullary reticular formation named by Jacob Clarke. The nucleus ambiguus contains the cell bodies of neurons that innervate the muscles of the soft palate, pharynx, and larynx which are associated with speech and swallowing. As well as motor neurons, the nucleus ambiguus contains preganglionic parasympathetic neurons which innervate postganglionic parasympathetic neurons in the heart.
The reticular formation is a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem. It is not anatomically well defined, because it includes neurons located in different parts of the brain. The neurons of the reticular formation make up a complex set of networks in the core of the brainstem that extend from the upper part of the midbrain to the lower part of the medulla oblongata. The reticular formation includes ascending pathways to the cortex in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and descending pathways to the spinal cord via the reticulospinal tracts.
The dorsal longitudinal fasciculus (DLF) is a longitudinal tract interconnecting the posterior hypothalamus, and the inferior medulla oblongata. It contains both ascending tracts and descending tracts, and serves to link the forebrain, and the visceral autonomic centres of the lower brainstem. It conveys both visceral motor signals, and sensory signals.
The nucleus raphe pallidus receives afferent connections from the periaqueductal gray, the Paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus, central nucleus of the amygdala, lateral hypothalamic area, and parvocellular reticular nucleus.
The nucleus raphe magnus is one of the seven raphe nuclei. It is situated in the pons in the brainstem, just rostral to the nucleus raphe obscurus.
The lateral reticular nucleus, of the lateral funiculus, can be divided into three subnuclei, the parvocellular, magnocellular and the subtrigeminal. As is typical of the reticular formation, none of these are very distinct subnuclei, but rather blurred distinctions between cell types and location. The lateral reticular nucleus sends all of its projections to the cerebellum.
The parvocellular reticular nucleus is part of the brain located dorsolateral to the caudal pontine reticular nucleus.
The caudal pontine reticular nucleus or nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis is a portion of the reticular formation, composed of gigantocellular neurons.
Sleep onset is the transition from wakefulness into sleep. Sleep onset usually transmits into non-rapid eye movement sleep but under certain circumstances it is possible to transit from wakefulness directly into rapid eye movement sleep.
The midbrain reticular formation (MRF), also known as reticular formation of midbrain, mesencephalic reticular formation, tegmental reticular formation, and formatio reticularis (tegmenti) mesencephali, is a structure in the midbrain consisting of the dorsal tegmental nucleus, ventral tegmental nucleus, and cuneiform nucleus. These are also known as the tegmental nuclei.
The parabrachial nuclei, also known as the parabrachial complex, are a group of nuclei in the dorsolateral pons that surrounds the superior cerebellar peduncle as it enters the brainstem from the cerebellum. They are named from the Latin term for the superior cerebellar peduncle, the brachium conjunctivum. In the human brain, the expansion of the superior cerebellar peduncle expands the parabrachial nuclei, which form a thin strip of grey matter over most of the peduncle. The parabrachial nuclei are typically divided along the lines suggested by Baxter and Olszewski in humans, into a medial parabrachial nucleus and lateral parabrachial nucleus. These have in turn been subdivided into a dozen subnuclei: the superior, dorsal, ventral, internal, external and extreme lateral subnuclei; the lateral crescent and subparabrachial nucleus along the ventrolateral margin of the lateral parabrachial complex; and the medial and external medial subnuclei
Reticular nucleus may refer to:
The parafacial zone (PZ) is a brain structure located in the brainstem within the medulla oblongata believed to be heavily responsible for non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep regulation, specifically for inducing slow-wave sleep.
The dorsal tegmental nucleus (DTN), also known as dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden (DTg), is a group of neurons located in the brain stem, which are involved in spatial navigation and orientation.
References
- ↑ Ohtake, Toshiyuki (July 1992). "Ascending projections from the gigantocellular reticular and dorsal paragigantocellular nuclei of the medulla oblongata in the rat: an anterograde PHA-L tracing study". Neuroscience Research. 14 (2): 96–116. doi:10.1016/0168-0102(92)90086-R. PMID 1382253. S2CID 4189064.
- ↑ Yang, CC et al. Excitatory innervation of caudal hypoglossal nucleus from nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis in the rat. Neuroscience. 1995 Mar;65(2):365-74.
It also receives inputs from the pedunculopontine nucleus.
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