central tegmental tract
{{Infobox brain
| Name = Central tegmental tract
| Latin = Tractus tegmentalis centralis
| Image = Midbrainsuperiorcolliculus.png
| Caption = Diagram of the midbrain, sectioned at the level of the superior colliculus (Central tegmental tract not labeled, but region is visible.)
| Image2 = Pons section at facial colliculus.png
| Caption2 = Axial section of the Brainstem (Pons) at the level of the Facial Colliculus (Central tegmental tract not labeled, but region is visible.)
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The central tegmental tract is a tract that carries ascending and descending fibers, situated in the midbrain tegmentum, and the pontine tegmentum. The tract is situated in the central portion of the reticular formation.{{Cite book |last=Standring |first=Susan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201341621 |title=Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice |publisher=Elsevier |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=42th |location=New York |pages=451 |oclc=1201341621}}
Structure
The central tegmental tract contains descending and ascending fibers. It runs from the red nucleus to the inferior olivary nucleus.{{Cite book |last=Standring |first=Susan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201341621 |title=Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice |publisher=Elsevier |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=42nd |location=New York |pages=456–458 |oclc=1201341621}} In humans it is very small and runs ventral to the lateral corticospinal tract.
=Descending fibers=
Descending fibers of the rubro-olivary tract project from the parvocellular red nucleus to the ipsilateral inferior olivary nucleus.{{Cite book |last=Patestas |first=Maria A. |title=A Textbook of Neuroanatomy |last2=Gartner |first2=Leslie P. |date= |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-67746-9 |edition=2nd |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=112, 292, 298, 306, 473}} The inferior olivary nucleus projects to the contralateral cerebellum via olivocerebellar fibers. The rubro-olivary fibres descend through the superior cerebellar peduncle.
=Ascending fibers=
Ascending fibers are second-order axons projecting from the gustatory nucleus (the rostral part of the solitary nucleus] to the ventral posteromedial nucleus of thalamus (third-order neurons in turn project to the gustatory cortex).
Ascending reticulothalamic fibres project from the medial zone nuclei of the reticular formation to the hypothalamus (to mediate autonomic nervous system response), and the intralaminar thalamic nuclei (to mediate a startle response to pain).
Clinical significance
Lesion of the tract can cause palatal myoclonus, e.g. in myoclonic syndrome, in strokes of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
Additional Images
File:Lower pons horizontal KB.svg|Horizontal section through the lower part of the pons. The central tegmental tract is labeled #16.
File:Central Tegmental Tract.jpg|Tractography showing central tegmental tract
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080518232033/http://isc.temple.edu/neuroanatomy/lab/atlas/micn/ Midbrain at Inferior Colliculus - IV Nucleus], Sectional Atlas
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081224022105/http://isc.temple.edu/neuroanatomy/lab/atlas/mptmn/ Mid Pons at the Trigeminal Motor Nucleus], Sectional Atlas
- [http://faculty.une.edu/com/fwillard/pages/plate12.htm Neuroanatomy / plate12], Frank Willard
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