Reticular Formation Flashcards
Reticular Formation important in regulation of:
- Posture
- Stereotypic motor behavior
- regulating internal environment
- pain regulation
- sleep and wakefulness
- emotional tone
Raphae nuclei (“seam”) is
Adjacent to sagittal plane
Medial zone is..
Mix of large and small neurons,
Source of most ascending and descending projections
Lateral zone is…
Prominent in rostral medulla and caudal pons,
Primarily involved in cranial nerve reflexes and visceral functions
The medial reticulospinal tract…
Starts in pons; ipsilaterally descends near MLF and in anterior funiculus
The lateral reticulospinal tract….
Starts in medulla, descends bilaterally in lateral funiculus
Explain pain numbing pathway of RF
Pain receptors (via spinomesencephalic fibers) - periaqueductal grey - raphe magnus - posterior horn of spinal cord/spinal V nucleus
Opiates control pain by activating….
PAG-raphe
Reticular formation-thalamic intralaminar nuclear projections to cortex and ______ _______ ______ work together to modulate cortical activity.
Monoamine reticular projections
What structure is defined functionally and will produce a coma if there is bilateral damage to the midbrain RF? (Also has role in sleep-wakefulness cycle)
Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)
Neurochemical signatures of nuclei with diffuse projections:
Brainstem -
Hypothalamus -
Telencephalon -
BS - Norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin
Hypothalamus- histamine containing neurons
Telencephalon- Acetylcholine
Locus ceruleus is where? And has functions doing what?
Rostral pons
Arousal, vigilance, and attention
Norepinephrine released in the trigeminal spinal nucleus and spinal cord from the __________ _______ suppresses pain to the face.
Ventrolateral medulla
Depression caused by decreased levels of
Norepinephrine
Dopamine mainly comes from
- Substantia Nigra (putamen and caudate)
- ventral tegmental area (limbic system)
