Tracts-Pathways

Tracts of the Nervous System

CNS communicates with body structures via pathways.
sensory or motor information
processing and integration occur continuously

Pathways travel through the white matter of the spinal

cord.
Connect various CNS regions with peripheral nerves.

Sensory and Motor Tracts

Communication to and from the brain involves tracts
Ascending tracts are sensory
Deliver information to the brain
Descending tracts are motor
Deliver information to the periphery

Gross anatomy of the Spinal Cord

Sensory and Motor Tracts

Naming the tracts
If the tract name begins with spino (as in
spinocerebellar), the tract is a sensory tract
delivering information from the spinal cord to the
cerebellum (in this case)
If the tract name ends with spinal (as in
corticospinal), the tract is a motor tract that delivers
information from the motor cortex (in this case) to
the spinal cord

Tracts of the Nervous System

Tracts of the Nervous System

Pathway crosses over from one side of the body to the other side
at some point in its travels.
The left side of the brain processes information from the right
side of the body, and vice versa.
All pathways are composed of paired tracts.
A pathway on the left side of the CNS has a matching tract on the
right side of the CNS.
Both left and right tracts are needed to innervate both the left
and right sides of the body.
Pathways are composed of a series of two or three neurons that
work together.

Sensory Tracts

There are three major sensory

tracts
The posterior column tract
The spinothalamic tract
The spinocerebellar tract

Sensory Tracts
The three major sensory tracts involve chains of
neurons
First-order neuron
Delivers sensations to the CNS
The cell body is in the dorsal or cranial root ganglion

Second-order neuron
An interneuron with the cell body in the spinal cord or brain

Third-order neuron
Transmits information from the thalamus to the cerebral
cortex

Sensory Tracts
Neurons in the sensory tracts are
arranged according to three
anatomical principles
Sensory modality
Somatotropic
Medial-lateral rule

Sensory Tracts
Sensory modality
Fine touch sensations are carried in one sensory tract

Somatotopic
Ascending tracts are arranged according to the site of origin

Medial-lateral rule
Sensory neurons that enter a low level of the spinal cord are
more medial within the spinal cord
Sensory neurons that enter at a higher level of the spinal cord
are more lateral within the spinal cord

Spinocerebellar tract
Transmits proprioception
sensations to the cerebellum

Motor tracts
These are descending tracts
There are two major descending tracts
Corticospinal/Corticobulbar tract:
Conscious control of skeletal muscles
Subconscious tract: Subconscious
regulation of balance, muscle tone, eye,
hand, and upper limb position

The Corticospinal /pyramidal Pathway

Upper motor neurons begin at the primary motor cortex
Synapses with lower motor neurons occur in two tracts
Corticobulbar (bulbar, brain stem) tracts
move the eye, jaw, face, and some muscles of neck and
pharynx
Synapses in motor nuclei of cranial nerves
Corticospinal tracts
Provide conscious control over skeletal muscles that move
various body areas
Synapse in the anterior gray horn in the spinal cord
Fibers of lateral corticospinal tracts (85 %) cross over at the
level of the medulla (pyramids)

The Subconscious Motor Tracts

Consists of four tracts involved in monitoring the
subconscious motor control
Vestibulospinal tracts-muscle activity association
with balance (inner ear, cerebellum)
Tectospinal tracts reflex posturalmovements in
response to visual stimuli
Reticulospinal tracts-influence involuntary
movements and reflex activity
Rubrospinal tracts-Inhibitory influence in muscle tone

Stretch Reflex
It is reflex contraction of muscle resulting
from stimulation of the muscle spindle
( which is the receptor that is located inside
muscle & detects changes in muscle length
)by stretch

Stretch reflex -Components

Receptor(muscle spindle)
Afferent (annulospiral+flower spray)
Centre(AHC)
Efferent ( motor nerve(alpha fibers70%)to
extrafusal muscle fibers +gamma efferent
30% to muscle spindle intrafusal fibers)
Effector(muscle)

Muscle Spindles
Are composed of a few intrafusal muscle fibers
that lack actin and myosin in their central
regions, are noncontractile, and serve as
receptive surfaces.
Muscle spindles are wrapped with two types of
afferent endings: primary sensory endings of
type Ia fibers and secondary sensory endings of
type II fibers.
These regions are innervated by gamma efferent
fibers.

The Golgi tendon reflex (inverse

stretch reflex)

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