Central tegmental tract

Central tegmental tract
Central tegmental tract
	Diagram of the midbrain, sectioned at the level of the superior colliculus (Central tegmental tract not labeled, but region is visible.)
	Axial section of the Brainstem (Pons) at the level of the Facial Colliculus (Central tegmental tract not labeled, but region is visible.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Tractus tegmentalis centralis
NeuroNames	2204
TA98	A14.1.05.325
TA2	5869
FMA	83850
	Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [edit on Wikidata]

The central tegmental tract^[1] is a structure in the midbrain and pons.^{[citation needed]} It is situated in the central portion of the reticular formation.^[2] It contains:

descending rubro-olivary fibers projecting from the parvocellular red nucleus to the ipsilateral inferior olivary nucleus^[2]^[3] (which in turn projects to the contralateral cerebellum via olivocerebellar fibers^[3]). The rubro-olivary fibres descend through the superior cerebellar peduncle.^[2]

ascending second-order axons projecting from the gustatory nucleus^[2] of nucleus tractus solitarius to the ventral posteromedial nucleus of thalamus^[2]^[3] (third-order neurons in turn project to the gustatory cortex).
ascending reticulothalamic fibres projecting 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).^[3]

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]}

Additional Images

Horizontal section through the lower part of the pons. The central tegmental tract is labeled #16.
Tractography showing central tegmental tract

References

^ Kamali A, Kramer LA, Butler IJ, Hasan KM. Diffusion tensor tractography of the somatosensory system in the human brainstem: initial findings using high isotropic spatial resolution at 3.0 T. Eur Radiol. 2009 19:1480-8. doi: 10.1007/s00330-009-1305-x. PMID 19189108
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42th ed.). New York: Elsevier. p. 451. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Patestas, Maria A.; Gartner, Leslie P. (2016). A Textbook of Neuroanatomy (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 112, 292, 298, 306, 473. ISBN 978-1-118-67746-9.

External links

Midbrain at Inferior Colliculus - IV Nucleus, Sectional Atlas
Mid Pons at the Trigeminal Motor Nucleus, Sectional Atlas
Neuroanatomy / plate12, Frank Willard

[1] Kamali A, Kramer LA, Butler IJ, Hasan KM. Diffusion tensor tractography of the somatosensory system in the human brainstem: initial findings using high isotropic spatial resolution at 3.0 T. Eur Radiol. 2009 19:1480-8. doi: 10.1007/s00330-009-1305-x. PMID 19189108

[:2242-2] Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42th ed.). New York: Elsevier. p. 451. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.

[:0-3] Patestas, Maria A.; Gartner, Leslie P. (2016). A Textbook of Neuroanatomy (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 112, 292, 298, 306, 473. ISBN 978-1-118-67746-9.

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