Francisco E. Olucha-Bordonau
Universitat de València

Motor pathways ......................................................................................................................... 1

Pyramidal pathway ................................................................................................................ 1

Corticonuclear or geniculate tract .......................................................................................... 1

Motor cortico-cerebellar ......................................................................................................... 2

Cortico-striatum-pallidum-thalamus-cortex circuit..................................................................2

The configuration of the movement is done in the cerebral cortex and is performed through
descending pathways. Classically, two motor pathways have been defined, the pyramidal and
extrapiramidal pathways. In a simplistic version the pyramidal pathway is a direct projection
system going from the motor cortex to the spinal motor neurons. By contrast, extrapyramidal
pathways are a set of direct and indirect connections from the motor cortex to the basal ganglia,
thalamus, cerebellum and brainstem that makes up loops which return information to the motor
cortex to make the movement more accurate. Along these circuits the information about the
movement is overlapped with other modalities sensory information (mainly from proprioception
receptors) which adjust the movement to the desired goal.



 

This pathway arise from the large pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the primary motor cortex (area
4) and supplementary motor and premotor cortices (area 6). The axons of these neurons enters
into the internal capsule and then run through the cerebral peduncles and pons. Once passed
the pons the axons joint again to form the pyramidal tract that below the level of the bulbar olive
may decusse to form the corticospinal tracts.

Aproximately 70 and 90% of the pyramidal fibers decussate at the level of the lower medulla
and when passed to the contralateral side make up the lateral corticospinal tract, the rest
remain in the ipsilateral side and descends through the ventral corticospinal tract, but most of
them crossed the midline at the level of their termination.


 





It is the equivalent of the pyramidal tract but referred to the control of motor nuclei of the brain
stem. The fibers arise from the region of the motor cortex that controls the head, mainly the 8
area of the ascending frontal gyrus. Then axons pass through the region of the internal capsule,
what is named the knee of the internal capsule (hence the name geniculate tract) and then
reach the cerebral peduncles where they are located in its most medial aspect. Along the
midbrain, the pons and the medulla, the tract leaves fibers which enter into the motor nuclei of
the brainstem.

There are two kinds of fibers in the geniculate tract direct fibers which contact to motor neurons
in ththebrainstem and some other fibers which contact with surrounding ceters of the reticular
formation wich facilitates or inhibits the action of the motor neurons. Direct fibers contact to the
oculomotor nuclei, the motor trigeminal nucleus, the facial nucleus, the ambiguous motor
nucleus, the accessory nucleus and the hypoglossum nucleus. For most parts of the geniculate
tract the pathway is bilateral, that is the fibers of one side contact the motor nuclei of both sides.
However, the facial nucleus is contactect differentially in both sides, the upper face nucleus
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receives projections from both sides, but the lower face is only contacted by contralateral fibers.
Also the hypoglossal nucleus is ontacted only by contralateral fibers.

  
 
 


This is not a particular isolated pathways but is a part of a circuit or a loop that joins together,
the cerebral cortex, the vestibular system, the spinal system and the cerebellum and overlaps
voluntary behavior with feedback information coming back from the proprioceptive organs and
the vestibular system over the cerebellum and then back again over the cerebral cortex.

The starting point of this circuit could be the cortico-pontine projection. This projection is mainly
but not exclusively motor. The fibers of the pyramidal neurons descend to the internal capsule
and cerebral peduncles to the ipsilateral pontine nuclei. These nuclei relay cortical information
to the contralateral middle cerebellar peduncle and then the contralateeral cerebellum The
cerebellar cortex then projects onto the cerebellar nuclei which in turn send projections over the
reticular formation, the red nucleus and the ventral lateral thalamic nuclei. The projections of the
red nucleus and the reticular formation are conveyed by the ro¡ubrospinal and reticulospinal
tracts respectively which reach the interneurons of the spinal cord which, in turn, target the
motor neurons. In addition to these ooutputs, the vestibular and spinal proprioceptive
projections coming back to the cerebellum closes the automatic loop. The red nucleus and the
reticular formation are also directly projected by the cerebral cortex. The projections from the
red nucleus and the reticular formation have a facilitatory or inhibitory action over the overall
movement.

The ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus projects back to the premotor cortex, primary motor
and supplementary motor, which are the origin of the corticosìnal pyramidal tract.

 
 

  




As for the cerebellar circuit, the cortico-striatal circuits helps to make the movements more
precise.

The circuit starts in the cortical areas 4 and 6. Direct projections from these areas are
addressed to the corpus striatum (caudate +putamen). The cortico-striatal projections are
glutamatergic (excitatory). In the striatum there are a number of intrinsic circuits involving
neuropeptides and neurotransmitters (substance P, enkephalin).

• After the intrinsic processing, the striatum sends GABAergic (inhibitory) projections to
the pallidum in two pathways, one direct and the other indirect.
• The direct pathway targets the medial globus pallidus which also contains GABAergic
neurons. Then theglobus palliduc project to the ventrolateral thalamus which in turn
project to the cerebral cortex.

In addition to these pathways, the striatum also projects to the substantia nigra which sends
back dopaminergic projections to the striatum thus modulating the entire system.

The end point of the subcortical circuitry is again the ventral lateral and also the ventral anterior
thalamic nucleus. Which activate (glutamate) again the motor circuit throughout its thalamo-
cortical projection.

The loss of dopaminergic nigrostriatal projection by degeneration of neurons in the striatum is

one of the signs of Parkinson's disease. other lesions of the subcortical circuitry cause other
motor disorders like ballism or Huntington’s disease.
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Diagram representing the direct

pyramidal motor pathways. a)
motor cortex with somatotopic
organization of motor control, b)
corticoespinal pyramidal
pathway, c) corticonuclear or
geniculate pathway, d) common
oculo-motor nucleus, e)
trochlear nucleus, f) motor
nucleus of the trigeminus, g),
abducens nucleus, h) facial
nucleus, i) ambiguous nucleus,
j) hipoglossum and accessory
nuclei
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Diagram representing the

extrapyramidal motor circuits with
the basal ganglia, it is a series of
internal connections that involve
the cortex, the basal ganglia,
substantia nigra, the thalamus and
subthalamus. These circuits
provides accuracy and automatism
to movements. a) motor cortex, b)
corticostriatal pathway, c) caudate-
putamen, d) outer pallidum e)
inner pallidum f) substantia nigra,
g) nigrostriatal dopaminergic
pathway, h) nigrothalamic
GABAergic pathway i) subthalamic
nucleus, j) ventrolateral thalamic
nucleus, k) thalamocortical motor
pathway
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Diagram representing the flow of information in the cerebro-cerebellum as apart of the motor
pathways. a) motor cortex, b) pontine nuclei, c) cerebellar hemispheres, d) dentate nucleus, e)
nucleus interpossitus f) nucleus fastigium, g), red nucleus, h) ventral lateral nucleus of the
thalamus.
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