SPINAL CORD TRACTS.

Objectives.
• Describe the sensory and motor pathways to and from the cerebral
hemispheres.
• Describe the structure and function of the pyramidal and
extrapyramidal motor tracts.
Introduction.
• The spinal cord extends from the level of the foramen magnum of the
skull to the first lumbar vertebra.
• Unlike the brain, in which the gray matter forms a cortex over white
matter, the gray matter of the spinal cord is located centrally,
surrounded by white matter.
• The central gray matter of the spinal cord is arranged in the form of an
H, with two dorsal horns (posterior) and two ventral horns (anterior).
• The white matter of the spinal cord is composed of ascending and
descending fiber tracts. These are arranged into six columns of white
matter called funiculi.
Introduction.
• The fiber tracts within the white matter of the spinal cord are named to
indicate whether they are ascending (sensory) or descending (motor) tracts.
• The names of the ascending tracts usually start with the prefix spino- and
end with the name of the brain region where the spinal cord fibers first
synapse.
• Eg. The anterior spinothalamic tract, carries impulses conveying the sense
of touch and pressure, and synapses in the thalamus. From there it is
relayed to the cerebral cortex.
• The names of descending motor tracts, conversely, begin with a prefix
denoting the brain region that gives rise to the fibers and end with the
suffix- spinal. The lateral corticospinal tracts, for example, begin in the
cerebral cortex and descend the spinal cord.
Ascending tracts.
• The ascending fiber tracts convey sensory information from
cutaneous receptors, proprioceptors (muscle and joint receptors), and
visceral receptors.
• Most of the sensory information that originates in the right side of the
body crosses over to eventually reach the region on the left side of
the brain that analyzes this information.
• Similarly, the information arising in the left side of the body is
ultimately analyzed by the right side of the brain.
• For some sensory modalities, this decussation occurs in the medulla
oblongata; for others, it occurs in the spinal cord.
Descending tracts.
• The descending fiber tracts that originate in the brain consist of two
major groups: the corticospinal, or pyramidal tracts, and the
extrapyramidal tracts.
• The pyramidal tracts descend directly, from the cerebral cortex to the
spinal cord. The cell bodies that contribute fibers to these pyramidal
tracts are located primarily in the precentral gyrus, forming the
primary motor cortex.
• However, the supplementary motor complex, located in the superior
frontal gyrus just anterior to the “leg” region of the primary motor
cortex, contributes about 10% of the fibers in the corticospinal tracts.
Descending tracts.
• 80% to 90% of the corticospinal fibers decussate in the pyramids of the
medulla (hence the name “pyramidal tracts”) and descend as the lateral
corticospinal tracts.
• The remaining uncrossed fibers form the anterior corticospinal tracts,
which decussate in the spinal cord.
• The extrapyramidal tracts originate in the brain stem and are largely
controlled by the motor circuit structures of the corpus striatum—caudate
nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus, as well as by the substantia nigra
and thalamus.
• The extrapyramidal system is needed for the initiation of body movements,
maintenance of posture and control of the muscles of facial expression,
Descending tracts.
• The reticulospinal tracts are the major descending pathways of the
extrapyramidal system. These tracts originate in the reticular
formation of the brain stem, which receives either stimulatory or
inhibitory input from the cerebrum and the cerebellum.
• There are no descending tracts from the cerebellum; the cerebellum
can influence motor activity only indirectly by its effect on the
vestibular nuclei, red nucleus, and basal nuclei (which send axons to
the reticular formation). These nuclei, in turn, send axons down the
spinal cord via the vestibulospinal tracts, rubrospinal tracts, and
reticulospinal tracts, respectively.
CRANIAL AND SPINAL
NERVES.
Cranial Nerves.
• Of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 2 pairs arise from neuron cell bodies
located in the forebrain and 10 pairs arise from the midbrain and
hindbrain.
• The cranial nerves are designated by Roman numerals and by names.
• The Roman numerals refer to the order in which the nerves are
positioned from the front of the brain to the back.
• The names indicate the structures innervated by these nerves (e.g.
facial) or the principal function of the nerves (e.g. oculomotor).
Cranial Nerves.
• Most cranial nerves are classified as mixed nerves. i.e the nerve
contains both sensory and motor fibers.
• Those cranial nerves associated with the special senses (e.g. olfactory,
optic), however, consist of sensory fibers only. The cell bodies of these
sensory neurons are not located in the brain, but instead are found in
ganglia near the sensory organ.
Spinal Nerves.
• There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves.
• These nerves are grouped into 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5
sacral, and 1 coccygeal according to the region of the vertebral
column from which they arise.
• Each spinal nerve is a mixed nerve composed of sensory and motor
fibers. These fibers are packaged together in the nerve, but they
separate near the attachment of the nerve to the spinal cord. This
produces two “roots” of each nerve.
Spinal Nerves.
• The dorsal root is composed of sensory fibers, and the ventral root is
composed of motor fibers.
• An enlargement of the dorsal root, the dorsal root ganglion, contains
the cell bodies of the sensory neurons.
• The cell bodies of somatic motor neuron that innervates skeletal
muscles are not located in a ganglion but instead are contained within
the gray matter of the spinal cord.
• The cell bodies of some autonomic motor neurons (which innervate
involuntary effectors), however, are located in ganglia outside the
spinal cord
Reflex Arch.
• A reflex is an unconscious motor response to a sensory stimulus.
• Stimulation of sensory receptors evokes action potentials that are conducted into
the spinal cord by sensory neurons.
• E.g. a sensory neuron synapses with an association neuron (or interneuron), which,
in turn, synapses with a somatic motor neuron. The somatic motor neuron then
conducts impulses out of the spinal cord to the muscle and stimulates a reflex
contraction. The brain is not directly involved in this reflex response to sensory
stimulation.
• In a muscle stretch reflex e.g knee-jerk reflex, the sensory neuron synapses directly
with a motor neuron.
• Other reflexes are more complex, involving a number of association neurons and
resulting in motor responses on both sides of the spinal cord at different levels.
Summary.
Spinal Cord tracts.
• Ascending tracts carry sensory information from sensory organs up the spinal cord to
the brain.
• Descending tracts are motor tracts and are divided into two groups: the pyramidal
and the extrapyramidal systems.
• Pyramidal tracts are the corticospinal tracts. They begin in the precentral gyrus and
descend, without synapsing, into the spinal cord.
• Most of the corticospinal fibers decussate in the pyramids of the medulla oblongata.
• Regions of the cerebral cortex, the basal nuclei, and the cerebellum control
movements indirectly by synapsing with other regions that give rise to descending
extrapyramidal fiber tracts.
• The major extrapyramidal motor tract is the reticulospinal tract, which has its origin in
the reticular formation of the midbrain.
Summary.
Cranial and Spinal Nerves
• There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves. Most of these are mixed, but some are
exclusively sensory in function.
• There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves. Each pair contains both sensory and
motor fibers.
• The dorsal root of a spinal nerve contains sensory fibers, and the cell bodies
of these neurons are contained in the dorsal root ganglion.
• The ventral root of a spinal nerve contains motor fibers.
• A reflex arc is a neural pathway involving a sensory neuron and a motor
neuron. One or more association neurons also may be involved in some
reflexes.