Table of Contents
What is the tectospinal tract?
The tectospinal tract is part of the extrapyramidal system of the long descending motor pathway.[1] It is involved in orienting the eyes and the head towards sounds as part of the auditory and visual reflex.[2] It originates from the superior colliculus, which is involved in both the auditory and visual pathways.
What does the tectospinal tract innervate?
The tectospinal tracts originate in the contralateral superior colliculus and descend to innervate lower motor neurons in cervical segments of the spinal cord that orient the head to a visual or auditory stimulus.
Where does the tectospinal tract Decussation?
Tectospinal tract
| Origin | Superior colliculus |
|---|---|
| Decussation | Dorsal to the mesencephalic duct |
| Termination | Neurons within laminae VI-VII |
| Function | Postural movements of the head in response to visual and auditory stimuli |
Which tract is responsible for Spino visual reflex?
the Tectospinal tract
The origin of the Tectospinal tract is in the superior colliculus of the midbrain. As this area recieves information regarding visual input, this tract is primarily responsible for mediating reflex responses to visual stimuli. The tectospinal tract is named after the tectum, meaning roof.
What is the function of Tectospinal?
The tectospinal tract is responsible for controlling the movement of the head in response to auditory and visual stimuli. Therefore, it has been postulated to control postural change on the visual information received to the superior colliculus.
What is the function of the Vestibulospinal and Tectospinal tracts?
Its function is similar to that of the tectospinal tract. The lateral vestibulospinal tract provides excitatory signals to interneurons, which relay the signal to the motor neurons in antigravity muscles. These antigravity muscles are extensor muscles in the legs that help maintain upright and balanced posture.
Is the tectospinal tract white or gray matter?
As noted earlier, the reticulospinal, vestibulospinal, and tectospinal tracts are medial descending brainstem motor pathways whose axons run rostrocaudally mainly within more medial portions of the spinal white matter and synapse in more medial portions of the spinal gray matter.
Is the tectospinal tract ascending or descending?
Tectospinal tracts facilitate postural movements arising from visual stimuli. Although the corticobulbar tract is a descending pathway, it terminates on the cranial nerve nuclei, which are located in the midbrain and brainstem.
What is the function of the vestibulospinal and Tectospinal tracts?
How do you remember ascending and descending tracts?
An useful mnemonic to remember the modalities of the lateral spinothalamic tract is “Pa-Te-La” (Pain, Temperature via Lateral spinothalamic). The fibers enter the spinal cord from the posterior root ganglion and reach the posterior gray column where they divide into ascending and descending branches.
Is the Tectospinal tract ascending or descending?