ANAT30007 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Diencephalon, Rubrospinal Tract, Grey Matter

• School: University of Melbourne
• Department: Anatomy and Neuroscience
• Course: ANAT30007
• Professor: Varsha Pilbrow

Document Summary

Pyramidal system = voluntary movements + direct pathways to influence lower mns. Extrapyramidal system: control and refinement of movements (i. e. force, rate, regulation of antagonistic muscles) Indirect pathways to influence lower mns: tracts found in reticular formation of pons and medulla. Involvement of basal ganglia, midbrain nuclei and cerebellum. Rubrospinal tract: red nucleus of midbrain to spinal cord, travels in lateral funiculus (cervical mainly, mainly upper limb control. Reticulospinal tract: pons and medulla reticular formation, travel in lateral (medulla) and anterior (pons) funiculus, co-ordinates automatic movements and posture. Vestibulospinal tract: vestibular nuclei (medulla and pons, travels in anterior funiculus, control of lower limb muscle tone for upright posture and balance. Tectospinal tract: midbrain colliculli, travels in anterior funiculus (cervical, automatic postural movements of head in response to visual and auditory stimuli. Plays a big role in the extrapyramidal pathway: cerebral nuclei (all three collectively known as corpus striatum, glubus pallidus, putamen, caudate nucleus.