TOPIC: ASCENDING PATHWAYS

Recall that in the spinal cord, dorsal (or the posterior) root is sensory and the ventral (or the anterior) root
is motor. Thus, the sensory ascending pathways enter the spinal cord through the dorsal root; thereafter,
they ascend in one of the three columns viz. dorsal (or posterior), lateral and ventral (or anterior).

After entering the spinal cord, the sensory fibres can take the following routes:

Termination Function
End on motor neurons in the anterior horn of For spinal reflexes
the spinal cord (directly or through
interneurons)
Ascend up in specific tracts (specific sensory For conscious perception of specific sensations
pathways) to a specific site on the sensory
cortex
Ascend up in non-specific sensory pathways For alert state
(Ascending reticular activating system or
ARAS) and go to the entire neocortex
Ascend up to cerebellum For unconscious proprioception

Ascend up to tectum (of the midbrain) For visuo-spinal reflexes

Different tracts in the various columns

Column Ascending tracts Descending tracts

Anterior white column
Lateral white column
Posterior white column
Anterior spinothalamic
Lateral spinothalamic, anterior
spinocerebellar, posterior
spinocerebellar, spinotectal
Fasciculus gracilis (tract of
Goll) and fasciculus cuneatus
(tract of Burdach)
Anterior corticospinal,
vestibulospinal, tectospinal,
medial reticulospinal
Lateral corticospinal,
rubrospinal, lateral
reticulospinal, spinal
sympathetic
-

In our set of lectures on CNS I, we shall be discussing only the specific sensory pathways.
The specific sensory pathways
As the name suggests, they carry specific sensations. As we already know, they can ascend in one
of the following columns viz.
i) Dorsal (or posterior) column (DC)
ii) Ventral (or anterior) column (VC)
iii) Lateral column (LC)

Based on the above fact, the ascending pathways can be broadly divided into two main pathways:

A. The antero-lateral (or the ventro-lateral) system

The antero-lateral system is further sub-divided into:
i) Anterior and ii) Lateral
B. The dorsal (or the posterior) column system

The systems carry the specific sensations as under:

System Carries
Anterior Crude touch and crude pressure
Lateral Pain and temperature
Dorsal column Fine touch, tactile localisation, vibration,
proprioception, 2-point discrimination, pressure
discrimination, stereognosis
2-point discrimination: means the ability to recognize (with the eyes closed) two closely-placed points as
separate. It is best in the finger tips and worst in the back.
Stereognosis : means the ability (with the eyes closed) to recognize a familiar object placed in the hand
just by feeling it e.g. recognizing a pen, key etc.

Mnemonic
“ PCT does NOT carry PCT!”
The Posterior Column Tract does NOT carry Pain, Crude touch and Temperature.)

Let us now do in detail, the route taken by the above systems:

A. The antero-lateral (or the ventro-lateral) system

Use the following diagram as the reference for studying the text that follows immediately:

Carefully study the diagram above and note the following points:

There are 3 separate sensory neurons viz. I, II and III, carrying the sensation from the
receptor to the cortex → they are known (respectively) as the first order, second order and
third order sensory neurons.

I. First order sensory neurons:

 As we already know, the first order sensory neurons enter the spinal cord
through the dorsal root, at their relevant spinal segments. Their course is
from the receptor to the spinal cord. These are pseudo-unipolar neurons;
their cell bodies are located in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Obviously
therefore, there is no synapse at the DRG.

II. Second order sensory neurons:

i) The first order sensory neurons synapse with the second order
sensory neurons in the spinal cord;
ii) in the spinal cord, they cross to the opposite side.
iii) The second order neurons (after having crossed to the opposite side
in the spinal cord) ascend up and synapse with certain nuclei in the
thalamus → therefore, the antero-lateral system is also known as the
anterior spino-thalamic tract and the lateral spino-thalamic tract):

Note:
The first order sensory neurons may ascend up (or descend down) on the
same side a few segments in the spinal cord before making a synapse in the
spinal cord and then crossing to the opposite side e.g. the fibres entering at
C5 may synapse at C3 as shown in the diagram below:

The nuclei of the thalamus with which these second order neurons
synapse are known as the ventro-posterior nucleus of the thalamus:
the ventro-posterior nucleus of the thalamus has two parts:

a) ventro-posterior medial nucleus of the thalamus:

This receives sensations from the face (via the trigeminal
nerve)
b) ventro-posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus:
This receives sensations from the rest of the body

(Note:
 Fibres conveying the anterolateral column sensations from all over the body
except the face and head (i.e. spinothalamic fibres) are called spinal
lemniscus.

Fibres conveying the anterolateral column sensations from all the face and
head (i.e. spinothalamic fibres) are called trigeminal lemniscus (since these
sensations are carried by the trigeminal nerve)

III. Third order sensory neurons

From the thalamus, the third order neurons arise; they finally end in the
sensory cortex.

Sensory cortex:

In the sensory cortex, the third-order sensory neurons end in the post-central gyrus.
i) The post-central gyrus is also known as the primary somato-sensory area or
SI (this corresponds to Brodmann’s area 3,1,2)
ii) There is one more sensory area known as SII; it lies in the superior lip of
the Sylvian fissure
iii) There is another area (the posterior parietal lobule) just posterior to the
post-central gyrus; it is known as the sensory association area; it
corresponds to the Brodmann’s area 5 and 7
Somatotopy and sensory homunculus
Each point in the body is represented by a corresponding point in the post-central gyrus; this is
known as somototopy or point-for-point representation. Thus, the entire body is represented in a
miniature manner in the post-central gyrus; this is known as the sensory homunculus. The body
is represented upside down.

The area allotted to each body part in the post-central gyrus depends upon the density of receptors
in the area and the degree of specialization. Thus, the lips, face and thumb have a large
representation whereas the back, forearm etc. have a much smaller representation.
B. The The dorsal (or the posterior) column system

Use the following diagram as the reference for studying the text that follows immediately:

Carefully study the diagram above and note the following points:

There are 3 separate sensory neurons viz. I, II and III, carrying the sensation from the
receptor to the cortex → they are known (respectively) as the first order, second order and
third order sensory neurons.

I. First order sensory neurons:

As we already know, the first order sensory neurons enter the spinal cord
through the dorsal root, at their relevant spinal segments. Their course is
from the receptor to the spinal cord.

II. Second order sensory neurons:

i) The first order sensory neurons ascend up the spinal cord on
the same side and synapse with the second order sensory
neurons in the medulla;
 In the medulla, there are two nuclei on which the first
order sensory neurons end; these are known as the:
a) Cuneate nucleus
b) Gracile nucleus

● The first order sensory neurons of the dorsal column ascending

up the spinal cord and carrying sensations from the upper part of
the body are known as → the tract of Burdach (or the
fasciculus cuneatus); they end on the cuneate nucleus.

● The first order sensory neurons of the dorsal column ascending

up the spinal cord and carrying sensations from the lower part of
the body are known as → the tract of Goll (or the fasciculus
gracilis); they end on the gracile nucleus.

ii) in the medulla, they cross to the opposite side.

These fibres which cross to the opposite side are
known as the internal arcuate fibres (IAF);
iii) The second order neurons (after having crossed to the
opposite side in the medulla) ascend up and synapse with
certain nuclei in the thalamus → these ascending fibres are
known as the medial lemniscus (or Reil’s band) → hence,
the posterior (or the dorsal) column system is also known as
the posterior column-medial lemniscus system.

The nuclei of the thalamus with which these second order

neurons synapse are known as the ventro-posterior nucleus of
the thalamus: the ventro-posterior nucleus of the thalamus has
two parts:

a) ventro-posterior medial nucleus of the thalamus:

This receives sensations from the face (via the trigeminal
nerve)
b) ventro-posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus:
This receives sensations from the rest of the body

III. Third order sensory neurons

From the thalamus, the third order neurons arise; they finally end in the
sensory cortex.

Comparison of the 2 major specific sensory systems:

 Anterolateral column
Carries: pain, temperature, crude touch
First order sensory neurons synapse in the
spinal cord
Crossing over: spinal cord
Lamination: Fibres from the lower parts of
the body are placed laterally (see the diagram
below)*
Sensations that are conveyed are not so
precise w.r.t. their perception in relation to
localization or discrimination
Conducts relatively primitive senses of crude
touch, pain and temperature.
This is composed of much smaller
myelinated fibres (averaging 4 micrometers
in diameter) that transmit signals at velocities
ranging from a few meters per second up to
40 m/s
Much smaller degree of spatial orientation of
the nerve fibres w.r.t. their origin
Poor degree of spatial localization
Gradations of intensity is poor
Ability to transmit rapidly changing or
rapidly repetitive signals is poor
Crude type of transmission system
Phylogenetically older
(S = Sacral; L = Lumbar; T = Thoracic; C = Cervical)
Dorsal column-medial lemniscus system
Carries: others
First order sensory neurons synapse in the
medulla
Medulla
Lamination: Fibres from the lower parts of
the body are placed medially (see the
diagram below)*
Carries better developed sensory modalites
which are precise in location and
discrimination etc.
The system is composed of large, myelinated
nerve fibres that transmit signals to the brain
at velocities of 30 to 110 m/sec
High degree of spatial orientation
High degree
High
High
Fine type of transmission system
Phylogenetically newer