ACB 334 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Cranial Nerve Nucleus, Vestibulocochlear Nerve, Reticular Formation

• School: U of S
• Department: Anatomy and Cell Biology
• Course: ACB 334
• Professor: Jen Chlan

Document Summary

Reticular information = a column of neurons located throughout the whole brainstem (tegmentum) Acts like a network or computer; a network of poorly defined neurons (looks like a net) Could(cid:374)"t ide(cid:374)tify disti(cid:374)(cid:272)t neurons; also involved in sleep and pain modulation. It takes in a bunch of inputs from various sources processes it and spits out a response. Ventrally, the reticular formation continues w/ intermediate gray matter of the cervical. Rostral reticular formation/pontomesencephalic junction: mesencephalon and rostral pons. Caudal reticular formation: caudal pons and medulla, maintains important reflexes. Help maintain an alert and conscious state. Works w/ sc and cranial nerve nuclei in the forebrain to evoke motor, reflex and autonomic. Conscious state has 3 as (alertness, functions, and pain attention and awareness) Works w/ thalamus to maintain conscious state. Pontomesencephalic rf thalamus and basal forebrain activate the whole cortex. If the aras tract is intact, then the person is aware and the whole brain is activated.