Nerve tract

White matter tracts within a human brain, as visualized by MRI tractography

A nerve tract,[1] is a bundle of nerve fibers (axons) connecting nuclei of the central nervous system.[2][3] In the peripheral nervous system this is known as a nerve fascicle. The main nerve tracts in the central nervous system are of three types – association fibers, commissural fibers, and projection fibers. A tract may also be referred to as a commissure, fasciculus or decussation. A commissure connects the two cerebral hemispheres at the same levels. Examples are the posterior commissure and the corpus callosum. A decussation is a connection made by fibres that cross at different levels (obliquely), such as the sensory decussation. Examples of a fascicle are the subthalamic fasciculus and the lenticular fasciculus.

Categories

The nerve fibers in the central nervous system can be categorized into three groups on the basis of their course and connections.[4]

Association fibers

The tracts that connect cortical areas within the same hemisphere are called association tracts.[4] Long association fibers connect different lobes of a hemisphere to each other whereas short association fibers connect different gyri within a single lobe. Among their roles, association tracts link perceptual and memory centers of the brain.[5]

Commissural fibers

Commissural tracts connect corresponding cortical areas in the two hemispheres.[4] They cross from one cerebral hemisphere to the other through bridges called commissures. The great majority of commissural tracts pass through the corpus callosum. A few tracts pass through the much smaller anterior and posterior commissures. Commissural tracts enable the left and right sides of the cerebrum to communicate with each other.

Projection fibers

Projection tracts connect the cerebral cortex with the corpus striatum, diencephalon, brainstem and the spinal cord.[4] The corticospinal tract for example, carries motor signals from the cerebrum to the spinal cord. Other projection tracts carry signals upward to the cerebral cortex. Superior to the brainstem, such tracts form a broad, dense sheet called the internal capsule between the thalamus and basal nuclei, then radiate in a diverging, fanlike array to specific areas of the cortex.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "nerve tract". TheFreeDictionary.com.
  2. ↑ Moore, Keith; Dalley, Arthur (2005). Clinically Oriented Anatomy (5th ed.). LWW. p. 47. ISBN 0-7817-3639-0. A bundle of nerve fibers (axons) connecting neighboring or distant nuclei of the CNS is a tract.
  3. ↑ Blumenfeld, Hal (2010). Neuroanatomy through clinical cases (2nd ed.). Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates. p. 22. ISBN 9780878936137.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Standring, Susan (2005). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (39th ed.). Churchill Livingstone. p. 411. ISBN 9780443071683. The nerve fibres which make up the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres are categorized on the basis of their course and connections. They are association fibres, which link different cortical areas in the same hemisphere; commissural fibres, which link corresponding cortical areas in the two hemispheres; or projection fibres, which connect the cerebral cortex with the corpus striatum, diencephalon, brain stem and the spinal cord
  5. ↑ Saladin, Kenneth (2012). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. New York: McGraw Hill. p. 531. ISBN 978-0-07-337825-1.
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