The ascending tracts refer to the neural pathways responsible for transmitting sensory information from the peripheral nerves to the cerebral cortex. Often recognized as somatosensory pathways or systems, ascending tracts are functionally divided into two categories based on the type of information they convey – conscious or unconscious.
In this article, we shall discuss the anatomy of the ascending tracts, and consider their clinical implications.
Descending tracts are the pathways by which motor signals are sent from the brain to lower motor neurones – the neurons responsible for directly innervating muscles to produce movement. In contrast to the ascending tracts, the descending pathways do not feature any synapses. The neurons contained within the descending motor system can be categorized as upper motor neurons, whose cell bodies are located in the cerebral cortex or brain stem, and whose axons remain in the central nervous system (CNS).
The auditory pathway is responsible for conveying the special sense of hearing, transmitting information from the receptors in the organ of Corti (cochlear hair cells) of the inner ear to the central nervous system via the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII). This pathway ultimately reaches the primary auditory cortex for conscious perception, along with other parallel pathways for unconscious processing of auditory information.
In this article, we will discuss the anatomy of the auditory pathway, including its components, anatomical course and associated anatomical landmarks.
The anatomy of the ascending and descending tracts, as well as the auditory pathway, are important to understand when considering their clinical implications. Dysfunction in the pathways can result in motor, sensory or perceptual disturbances, and deficits associated with hearing and sound localization.
