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Olivary afferents from the brain stem reticular formation

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Summary

The projections from the brain stem reticular formation to the inferior olive have been studied in cats in which microinjections of horseradish peroxidase have been made into the inferior olive from a ventral approach. Retrogradely labelled cells were observed within the reticular formation proper of the medulla, pons and mesencephalon (within the nucleus reticularis parvicellularis, reticularis ventralis, reticularis gigantocellularis, reticularis lateralis, reticularis pontis caudalis, reticularis pontis oralis, cuneiformis and subcuneiformis). Labelled cells were also found within the lateral reticular nucleus (the nucleus of the lateral funiculus), the paramedian reticular and the perihypoglossal nuclei. The connections are bilateral (the projection from the lateral reticular nucleus is only contralateral). The observations demonstrate a more widespread origin for the reticulo-olivary fibres than has previously been shown and indicate that the medullary reticular formation is the area with the highest number of cells projecting to the olivary complex.

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Abbreviations

ß:

nucleus ß

Br.c.:

superior cerebellar peduncle (brachium conjunctivum)

Br.p.:

middle cerebellar peduncle (brachium pontis)

C.i.:

inferior colliculus

C.r.:

inferior cerebellar peduncle (restiform body)

Cu:

nucleus cuneiformis

D:

dorsal accessory olive

dl:

dorsal lamella

dors.c.:

dorsal cap

dorsomed.c.col.:

dorsomedial cell column

F.l.m.:

medial longitudinal fasciculus

Ic or ic:

nucleus intercalatus

l:

lateral

M:

medial accessory olive

m:

medial

N.III,V,VI,VII,X,XII:

root fibres of cranial nerves

N.c.:

nucleus cuneatus

N.c.e.:

external (accessory) cuneate nucleus

N.c.t.:

nucleus of corpus trapezoideum

N.l.l.:

nucleus of lateral lemniscus

N.m.X:

dorsal motor (parasympathetic) nucleus of vagus

N.mes.:

mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus

Nr:

nucleus ruber

Nrl or N.r.l:

lateral reticular nucleus (nucleus of lateral funiculus)

Nrp or N.r.p.:

nucleus reticularis paramedianus

N.r.t.:

nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis

nucl.β:

nucleus ß

Ol.s.:

superior olive

P:

principal olive

ph or P.h.:

nucleus praepositus hypoglossi

PN:

perihypoglossal nuclei

Pp:

nucleus peripeduncularis

Py:

pyramid

Rg or R.gc.:

nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis

Rl or R.l.:

nucleus reticularis lateralis (of Olszewski)

Rp or R.pc.:

nucleus reticularis parvicellularis

Rpc or R.p.c.:

nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis

Rpo or R.p.o.:

nucleus reticularis pontis oralis

Rv or R.v.:

nucleus reticularis ventralis

Scu:

nucleus subcuneiformis

S.n.:

substantia nigra

Tr.sp.V.:

spinal tract of trigeminal nerve

T.s.:

tractus solitarius surrounded by nucleus of solitary tract

vl:

ventral lamella

vlo or ventrolat outgr.:

ventrolateral outgrowth

V.m.:

medial vestibular nucleus

I-XV:

transverse sections through the olive from caudal (I) to rostral (XV)

III,IV,V,VI,VII,X and XII:

motor nuclei of cranial nerves (X: nucleus ambiguus)

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  1. Anatomical Institute, University of Oslo, Karl Johansgt. 47, 1, Oslo, Norway

    F. Walberg

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Walberg, F. Olivary afferents from the brain stem reticular formation. Exp Brain Res 47, 130–136 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235894

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235894

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