What are the Vestibulospinal tracts?

The vestibulospinal tract is comprised of a lateral and medial pathway. The function of these tracts is to maintain equilibratory reflexes from the input of the vestibular apparatus. They will reach the axial muscles, i.e. intercostal and back muscles, as well as the extensors of the limbs.

What is the function of the Vestibulospinal and Tectospinal tracts?

Vestibulospinal tract; controls body balance. Reticulospinal tract; regulates the function of spinal reflex arcs and maintains muscle tone when standing and walking. Tectospinal tract; responsible for the blinking reflex and eye pursuit movements when following an object.

What is the main function of the Reticulospinal tract?

The Reticulospinal tract is responsible primarily for locomotion and postural control. The Reticulospinal tract is comprised of the medial (pontine) tract and the lateral (medullary) tract.

How many Vestibulospinal tracts are there?

two tracts
The Vestibulospinal tract is infact made of two tracts, the lateral and medial.

Is the vestibulospinal tract is a direct pathway?

The vestibulospinal tract is a neural tract in the central nervous system. Specifically, it is a component of the extrapyramidal system and is classified as a component of the medial pathway. Like other descending motor pathways, the vestibulospinal fibers of the tract relay information from nuclei to motor neurons.

What is the origin of the tectospinal tract?

Description. The origin of the Tectospinal tract is in the superior colliculus of the midbrain. As this area recieves information regarding visual input, this tract is primarily responsible for mediating reflex responses to visual stimuli. The tectospinal tract is named after the tectum, meaning roof.

What are the Corticobulbar tracts?

The corticobulbar tract is a two-neuron path which unites the cerebral cortex with the cranial nerve nuclei in the brainstem involved in motor functions (apart from the oculomotor nerve).

What is the function of lateral Reticulospinal tract?

Medullary (lateral) reticulospinal tract originates from the gigantocellular and ventral reticular nucleus. It inhibits the extensor and stimulates the flexor muscles of the trunk and proximal limbs.

What is the origin of the Tectospinal tract?

Where does the vestibulospinal tract originate in the spinal cord?

The vestibulospinal tracts arise from the vestibular nuclei of the hindbrain. The major projections of the vestibular complex to the spinal cord are the lateral vestibulospinal tract, which arises from the lateral vestibular nucleus, and the medial vestibulospinal tract, which arises from the medial and spinal vestibular nuclei.

Where does the reticulospinal tract originate in the brain?

The reticulospinal tract also originates in the precentral gyrus, but instead of descending uninterrupted to the spinal cord, these fibers synapse in the reticular formation of the brain stem as they descend to the spinal cord. They mainly have an inhibitory effect on the alpha and gamma motor neurons.

Where are the contacts of the lateral reticulospinal tract?

The lateral reticulospinal tract appears to make more limited contacts at only a few spinal segmental levels at a time. Its contacts are in lamina VI, VII, and VIII. In general, the projections of the lateral reticulospinal tract are slightly more dorsal in the gray matter of the spinal cord, suggesting more indirect control over movement.

How is the rubrospinal and crossed reticulospinal tracts related?

The relationship between the rubrospinal and crossed reticulospinal tracts can result in a postural role within distal musculature. The pathways innervate motorneurons both directly and indirectly through interneurons and short propriospinal neurons (e.g. intrinsic muscles acting in a postural role for individual finger movement)