Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about RETICULAR FORMATION!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the reticular formation is a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem . the neuronal network extends from the midbrain to the lower part of the medulla o modulatory functions are primarily found in the rostral sector of the reticular formation . the premotor functions are localized in the neurons in more caudal regions . the reticular formation also contains two major neural subsystems . it has been functionally cleaved both sagittally and coronally . the original functional differentiation was a division of caud study suggests caudal portion inhibits rostral portion of reticular formation . sagittal division reveals more morphological distinctions . insomnia in cats can be caused by insomnia . the lateral RF is close to the motor nuclei of the cranial nerves . it mostly mediates their function . ganglions and interneurons serve to mediate their characteristic reflexes and tracts function in maintaining tone, balance, and posture . reticular formation relays eye and ear signals to the cerebellum . other motor nuclei include gaze centers, which enable the eyes to track and fixate injury to the reticular formation can result in irreversible coma . it plays a central role in states of consciousness like alertness and sleep . habituation is a process in which the brain learns to ignore repetitive, meaningless stimuli while remaining sensitive to others . a person can sleep through loud traffic in a large city, but is awakened promptly neurotransmitters released include dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, histamine, acetylcholine, and glutamate . ARAS consists of evolutionari ascending system is seen to contribute to wakefulness as characterised by cortical and behavioural arousal . low voltage fast burst brain waves (EEG desynchronization) are associated with wakefulness and REM the physiological change from a state of deep sleep to wakefulness is reversible . the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) of the hypothalamus inhibits neural circuits responsible for damage to the reticular formation of the midbrain may lead to coma or death . direct electrical stimulation of the ARAS produces pain responses in cats and educes verbal reports of pain in humans . disruption of the ARAS has been implicated in the following disorders: Narcolepsy: lesions along the pedunculopontine (PPT/PPN) / laterodorsal tegmental degeneration in the ARAS begins early in the disease process . prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke is known to produce lasting arousal, attentional and cognitive deficits in humans . the reticulospinal tracts are involved mainly in locomotion and postural control, although they do have other functions as well . the four pathways can be grouped into two main system pathways – a the corticospinal and rubrospinal tract pathways belong to the lateral system which provides fine control of movement . the MRST is responsible for exciting anti-gravity, extensor muscles . the fibers of this tract arise from the medullary reticular formation . responding to a startling or painful stimulus, both arms and legs extend and turn internally . a physical or vascular damage to the the cause is the red nucleus counteracting the extensor motorneuron’s excitation . a damage to the medulla below the vestibular nuclei may cause flaccid para the term “reticulum” means “netlike structure,” which is what the reticular formation resembles at first glance . it has been described as either too complex to study or an undifferentiated part of the brain the term “reticular formation” is seldom used anymore except to speak in generalities . the cells lack clear ganglionic boundaries, but do have clear functional organizations . modern scientists usually refer to the individual nuclei that compose magoun: the direct electrical stimulation of the brain could simulate electrocortical relays . he says the principle was used to demonstrate how to produce wakefulness from sleep . the cat’s brainstem was of particular cats with mesancephalic interruptions to the ARAS entered into a deep sleep . cats could be awakened with somatic stimuli . auditory stimuli directly fired portions of the reticular activ the researchers proposed that a column of cells surrounding the midbrain reticular formation received input from all the ascending tracts of the brain stem . they relayed these afferents to the cortex and therefore