8 Basal Ganglia
The basal ganglia are a part of the motor system. The principal nuclei of the basal ganglia are the caudate nucleus, the putamen, and the globus pallidus, all of which…
6 Diencephalon and Autonomic Nervous System
The diencephalon lies between the brainstem and the telencephalon. It has four components: the thalamus, epithalamus, subthalamus, and hypothalamus. The thalamus is found on both sides of the third ventricle…
7 Limbic System
The limbic system is composed of both neocortical and phylogenetically older cortical areas (portions of the archicortex and paleocortex) and a number of nuclei. The cellular architecture of the archicortex…
5 Cerebellum
The cerebellum is a central organ for fine motor control. It processes information from multiple sensory channels (particularly vestibular and proprioceptive), together with motor impulses, and modulates the activity of…
Cranial Nerves
Origin, Components, and Functions ▶Fig. 4.2 is a schematic dorsal view of the brainstem, in which the motor and parasympathetic cranial nerve nuclei are shown on the right and the…
Brainstem Disorders
Ischemic Brainstem Syndromes The anatomy of the arterial blood supply of the brainstem is depicted in ▶Fig. 4.57, and the territories of individual arteries supplying the medulla, pons, and midbrain…
Topographical Anatomy of the Brainstem
Up to this point, we have discussed the ascending and descending pathways of the spinal cord and the positions of the cranial nerve nuclei in the brainstem, along with their…
4 Brainstem
The brainstem is the most caudally situated and phylogenetically oldest portion of the brain. It is grossly subdivided into the medulla oblongata (usually called simply the medulla), pons, and midbrain…
3 Motor System
The motor impulses for voluntary movement are mainly generated in the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe (primary motor cortex, Brodmann area 4) and in the adjacent cortical areas (first…
2 Somatosensory System
After a preliminary chapter on the structural elements of the nervous system, the discussion of its major functional components and mechanisms now begins with the perceptual processes mediated by receptor…
