tectospinal tract

Function

• the tectospinal tract appears to be involved in head movements during visual & auditory tracking.

Origin

• a bundle of thick, myelinated nerve fibers originating in the deep layers of the superior colliculus

Course

• the tract crosses to the opposite side in the dorsal tegmental decussation
• the tract descends between the medial longitudinal fasciculus dorsally & the medial lemniscus ventrally, into the anterior funiculus of the spinal cord
• the tract ends in the medial aspect of the anterior horn of the cervical spinal cord
• through its course in the brainstem, it is accompanied by nerve fibers from the tectobulbar tract.

More general terms

• spinal tract

Component of

• mesencephalon (midbrain)
• pons
• medulla
• spinal cord (spinal marrow)