HOME



picture info

Raphe Nuclei
The raphe nuclei (, "seam") are a moderate-size cluster of nuclei found in the brain stem. They have 5-HT1 receptors which are coupled with Gi/Go-protein-inhibiting adenyl cyclase. They function as autoreceptors in the brain and decrease the release of serotonin. The anxiolytic drug Buspirone acts as partial agonist against these receptors. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are believed to act in these nuclei, as well as at their targets. Anatomy The raphe nuclei are traditionally considered to be the medial portion of the reticular formation, and appear as a ridge of cells in the center and most medial portion of the brain stem. In order from caudal to rostral, the raphe nuclei are known as the '' nucleus raphe obscurus'', the '' nucleus raphe pallidus'', the '' nucleus raphe magnus'', the '' nucleus raphe pontis'', the '' median raphe nucleus'', ''dorsal raphe nucleus'', ''caudal linear nucleus''. In the first systematic examination of the raph ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Medulla Oblongata
The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up the lower part of the brainstem. It is anterior and partially inferior to the cerebellum. It is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for autonomic (involuntary) functions, ranging from vomiting to sneezing. The medulla contains the cardiovascular center, the respiratory center, vomiting and vasomotor centers, responsible for the autonomic functions of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure as well as the sleep–wake cycle. "Medulla" is from Latin, ‘pith or marrow’. And "oblongata" is from Latin, ‘lengthened or longish or elongated'. During embryonic development, the medulla oblongata develops from the myelencephalon. The myelencephalon is a secondary brain vesicle which forms during the maturation of the rhombencephalon, also referred to as the hindbrain. The bulb is an archaic term for the medulla oblongata. In modern clinical usage, the word bulbar (as in bulbar palsy) is r ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Nucleus Raphe Obscurus
The nucleus raphe obscurus is one of the medullary raphe nuclei. It is located caudal to the nucleus raphe magnus. The nucleus raphe obscurus projects to the cerebellar lobes VI and VII and to crus II along with the nucleus raphe pontis. The nucleus raphes obscurus has also been implicated in the modulation of the hypoglossal nerve. It has been observed that the ablation of this nucleus causes a change in the firing pattern of this cranial nerve. In addition, the nucleus raphe obscurus mediates expiration via the effect of serotonin and depresses periodic synaptic potentials. It has also been shown that this nucleus stimulates gastrointestinal motor function; microinjections of 5-HT into the nucleus raphe obscurus increase gastric movement. See also * Raphe nuclei The raphe nuclei (, "seam") are a moderate-size cluster of nuclei found in the brain stem. They have 5-HT1 receptors which are coupled with Gi/Go-protein-inhibiting adenyl cyclase. They function as autoreceptors ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Midbrain
The midbrain or mesencephalon is the uppermost portion of the brainstem connecting the diencephalon and cerebrum with the pons. It consists of the cerebral peduncles, tegmentum, and tectum. It is functionally associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation.Breedlove, Watson, & Rosenzweig. Biological Psychology, 6th Edition, 2010, pp. 45-46 The name ''mesencephalon'' comes from the Greek ''mesos'', "middle", and ''enkephalos'', "brain". Structure The midbrain is the shortest segment of the brainstem, measuring less than 2cm in length. It is situated mostly in the posterior cranial fossa, with its superior part extending above the tentorial notch. The principal regions of the midbrain are the tectum, the cerebral aqueduct, tegmentum, and the cerebral peduncles. Rostral and caudal, Rostrally the midbrain adjoins the diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus, etc.), while Rostral and caudal, cau ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Inferior Central Nucleus
In the substance of the formatio reticularis are two small nuclei of gray matter. The one near the dorsal aspect of the hilus of the inferior olivary nucleus is called the Sublingual nucleus (inferior central nucleus, nucleus of Roller.) References External links NIF Search - Sublingual Nucleusvia the Neuroscience Information Framework The Neuroscience Information Framework is a repository of global neuroscience web resources, including experimental, clinical, and translational neuroscience databases, knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/ genomic resources and provides many aut ... Medulla oblongata {{Portal bar, Anatomy ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Pontine Raphe Nucleus
The pontine raphe nucleus is one of the raphe nuclei. It is located in the pontine tegmentum The pontine tegmentum, or dorsal pons, is the dorsal part of the pons located within the brainstem. The ventral part or ventral pons is known as the basilar part of the pons, or basilar pons. Along with the dorsal surface of the medulla oblonga .... References Pons {{Neuroanatomy-stub ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pons
The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, 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 Varolius"), after the Italian anatomist and surgeon Costanzo Varolio (1543–75). This region of the brainstem includes neural pathways and tracts that conduct signals from the brain down to the cerebellum and medulla, and tracts that carry the sensory signals up into the thalamus. Structure The pons in humans measures about in length. It is the part of the brainstem situated between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata. The horizontal ''medullopontine sulcus'' demarcates the boundary between the pons and medulla oblongata on the ventral aspect of the brainstem, and the roots of cranial nerves VI/VII/VIII emerge from the brainstem along this groove. The junction of pons, medulla oblongata, and cerebellum forms the cerebellopontine ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Nucleus Raphe Pallidus
The nucleus raphe pallidus receives afferent connections from the periaqueductal gray, the Paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus, central nucleus of the amygdala, lateral hypothalamic area, and parvocellular reticular nucleus. Also, the nucleus raphe pallidus receives afferents from the medial preoptic area, median preoptic nucleus and lateral paragigantocellular reticular nuclei. The nucleus raphe pallidus has recently been shown to be involved in the activation of a fever as an immunoreaction. It has been implied that the preoptic area is constantly inhibiting the raphe pallidus, especially the rostral portion, with GABA. When the preoptic area receives immune signals from the body, the inhibition stops and the rostral portion of the nucleus raphe pallidus excites the intermediolateral cell column, which induces a fever. The nucleus raphe pallidus has also been known to mediate the tachycardia response, an extremely high heart rate known to be incited by emotional or psychol ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Nucleus Raphe Magnus
The nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) is one of the seven raphe nuclei. It is situated in the pons in the brainstem, just rostral to the nucleus raphe obscurus. The NRM receives afferent stimuli from the enkephalinergic neurons of the periaqueductal gray; the serotonergic neurons of the NRM then bilaterally project efferents to the enkephalinergic and dynorphin-containing interneurons of the substantia gelatinosa of the posterior grey column of the spinal cord. This neural path thus mediates pain perception through pre-synaptic inhibition of first-order afferent (sensory) neurons. Anatomy Afferents It receives afferents from the spinal cord and cerebellum. It receives descending afferents from the periaqueductal grey matter (PAG), the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, central nucleus of the amygdala, lateral hypothalamic area, parvocellular reticular nucleus and the prelimbic, infralimbic, medial and lateral precentral cortices. It is one of the afferent targets of th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Nucleus Raphe Obscurus
The nucleus raphe obscurus is one of the medullary raphe nuclei. It is located caudal to the nucleus raphe magnus. The nucleus raphe obscurus projects to the cerebellar lobes VI and VII and to crus II along with the nucleus raphe pontis. The nucleus raphes obscurus has also been implicated in the modulation of the hypoglossal nerve. It has been observed that the ablation of this nucleus causes a change in the firing pattern of this cranial nerve. In addition, the nucleus raphe obscurus mediates expiration via the effect of serotonin and depresses periodic synaptic potentials. It has also been shown that this nucleus stimulates gastrointestinal motor function; microinjections of 5-HT into the nucleus raphe obscurus increase gastric movement. See also * Raphe nuclei The raphe nuclei (, "seam") are a moderate-size cluster of nuclei found in the brain stem. They have 5-HT1 receptors which are coupled with Gi/Go-protein-inhibiting adenyl cyclase. They function as autoreceptors ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

NeuroNames
''NeuroNames'' is an integrated nomenclature for structures in the brain and spinal cord of the four species most studied by neuroscientists: human, macaque, rat and mouse. It offers a standard, controlled vocabulary of common names for structures, which is suitable for unambiguous neuroanatomical indexing of information in digital databases. Terms in the standard vocabulary have been selected for ease of pronunciation, mnemonic value, and frequency of use in recent neuroscientific publications. Structures and their relations to each other are defined in terms of the standard vocabulary. Currently NeuroNames contains standard names, synonyms and definitions of some 2,500 neuroanatomical entities. The nomenclature is maintained by the University of Washington and is the core component of a tool called "BrainInfo". BrainInfo helps one identify structures in the brain. One can either search by a structure name or locate the structure in a brain atlas and get information such as it ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Dorsal Raphe Nucleus
The dorsal raphe nucleus is one of the raphe nuclei. It is situated in the brainstem at the midline. It has rostral and caudal subdivisions: * The rostral aspect of the ''dorsal'' raphe is further divided into interfascicular, ventral, ventrolateral and dorsal subnuclei. * The projections of the ''dorsal'' raphe have been found to vary topographically, and thus the subnuclei differ in their projections. Anatomy Efferents The DRN issues serotonergic efferents to the hippocampal formation, limbic lobe, and amygdala (these efferents are involved in regulation of memory processing). Neurophysiology Serotonergic neurotransmission The dorsal raphe is the largest serotonergic nucleus and provides a substantial proportion of the serotonin innervation to the forebrain. Serotonergic neurons are found throughout the dorsal raphe nucleus and tend to be larger than other cells. A substantial population of cells synthesizing substance P are found in the rostral aspects, many of these ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Median Raphe Nucleus
The median raphe nucleus (MRN), also known as the superior central nucleus, is a nucleus in the brainstem composed of polygonal, fusiform, and piriform neurons, which exists rostral to the pontine raphe nucleus. The median raphe nucleus is one of several raphe nuclei that lies on the brainstem midline. It is one of two nuclei that are situated more superior to the others. The second of these nuclei is the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). The MRN extends from the lower part of the dorsal raphe nucleus to an approximate position at the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle . The MRN projects extensively to the hippocampus, which is known to be essential for the formation of long-term memory. One study found that this raphe–hippocampus pathway plays a critical role in regulating hippocampal activity and likely associated memory consolidation processes. It has also been found to play a role in anxiety and depression, as one of the few parts of the brain that creates tryptopha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]