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The brainstem is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum 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, and sometimes the diencephalon is included in the brainstem.
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 pontine tegmentum, or dorsal pons, is located within the brainstem, and is one of two parts of the pons, the other being the ventral pons or basilar part of the pons. The pontine tegmentum can be defined in contrast to the basilar pons: basilar pons contains the corticospinal tract running craniocaudally and can be considered the rostral extension of the ventral medulla oblongata; however, basilar pons is distinguished from ventral medulla oblongata in that it contains additional transverse pontine fibres that continue laterally to become the middle cerebellar peduncle. The pontine tegmentum is all the material dorsal from the basilar pons to the fourth ventricle. Along with the dorsal surface of the medulla, it forms part of the rhomboid fossa – the floor of the fourth ventricle.
The paramedian pontine reticular formation, also known as PPRF or paraabducens nucleus, is part of the pontine reticular formation, a brain region without clearly defined borders in the center of the pons. It is involved in the coordination of eye movements, particularly horizontal gaze and saccades.
The reticulotegmental nucleus, tegmental pontine reticular nucleus is an area within the floor of the midbrain. This area is known to affect the cerebellum with its axonal projections.
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 ventral reticular nucleus is a continuation of the parvocellular nucleus in the brainstem.
The oral pontine reticular nucleus, or rostral pontine reticular nucleus, is delineated from the caudal pontine reticular nucleus. This nucleus tapers into the lower mesencephalic reticular formation and contains sporadic giant cells.
The caudal pontine reticular nucleus or nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis is an portion of the reticular formation, composed of gigantocellular neurons.
The gigantocellular reticular nucleus (Gi) is a subregion of the medullary reticular formation. As the name indicates, it consists mainly of so-called giant neuronal cells.
The paramedian reticular nucleus sends its connections to the spinal cord in a mostly ipsilateral manner, although there is some decussation.
The salivatory nuclei are the superior salivatory nucleus, and the inferior salivatory nucleus that innervate the salivary glands. They are located in the pontine tegmentum in the brainstem. They both are examples of cranial nerve nuclei.
The midbrain reticular formation(MRF) also reticular formation of midbrain, mesencephalic reticular formation, tegmental reticular formation, 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.
Serotonergic cell groups refer to collections of neurons in the central nervous system that have been demonstrated by histochemical fluorescence to contain the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine). Since they are for the most part localized to classical brainstem nuclei, particularly the raphe nuclei, they are more often referred to by the names of those nuclei than by the B1-9 nomenclature. These cells appear to be common across most mammals and have two main regions in which they develop; one forms in the mesencephlon and the rostral pons and the other in the medulla oblongata and the caudal pons.
Perihypoglossal nuclei, called also perihypoglossal complex or perihypoglossal nuclear complex or satellite nuclei is a group of neurons in the floor of the fourth ventricle, in close proximity to the nucleus of the hypoglossal nerve in the gray substance of the medulla oblongata, all of which contain cells with characteristics suggestive of reticular connections.
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
In neuroanatomy, corticomesencephalic tract is a descending nerve tract that originates in the frontal eye field and terminate in the midbrain. Its fibers mediate conjugate eye movement.
Reticular nucleus may refer to:
References
- ↑ Ter Horst, GJ et al. Projections from the rostral parvocellular reticular formation to pontine and medullary nuclei in the rat: involvement in autonomic regulation and orofacial motor control. Neuroscience. 1991;40(3):735-58.
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