The principal sensory nucleus of trigeminal nerve (or chief sensory nucleus of V, main trigeminal sensory nucleus) is a group of
second-order neuron
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It ...
s which have cell bodies in the caudal
pons
The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum.
The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...
.
It receives information about discriminative sensation and light touch of the face as well as conscious
proprioception
Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense".
Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...
of the
jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...
via first order neurons of
CN V
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing ...
.
* Most of the sensory information crosses the midline and travels to the
contralateral ventral posteromedial nucleus
The ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) is a nucleus of the thalamus.
Inputs and outputs
The VPM contains synapses between second and third order neurons from the anterior (ventral) trigeminothalamic tract and posterior (dorsal) trigeminothalami ...
(VPM) of the thalamus via the
anterior trigeminothalamic tract
The ventral trigeminal tract, ventral trigeminothalamic tract, anterior trigeminal tract, or anterior trigeminothalamic tract, is a tract composed of second order neuronal axons. These fibers carry sensory information about discriminative and crude ...
.
* However, information of the ''oral cavity'' travels to the ipsilateral VPM of the thalamus via the
dorsal trigeminothalamic tract
The dorsal trigeminal tract, dorsal trigeminothalamic tract, or posterior trigeminothalamic tract, is composed of second-order neuronal axons. These fibers carry sensory information about discriminative touch and conscious proprioception in the o ...
.
{{Authority control
Cranial nerve nuclei
Trigeminal nerve
Pons