Topographic studies on medial reticular nucleus.

Several distinct classes of neurons have been identified in the medial reticular nucleus of the medulla and pons and in proximity thereto. Neurons projecting down the spinal cord comprised the principal class with two subclasses according as the neurons did or did not receive monosynaptic inputs from the fastigial nuclei of the cerebellum. Two other classes were recognized accordings as they projected to the cerebellum or rostrally to the mesencephalon.

Somatotopic studies on red nucleus: spinal projection level and respective receptive fields.

The somatotopic inputs into red nucleus (RN) neurons have been studied with special reference to their level of projection in the spinal cord. As inputs we employed either volleys in predominantly cutaneous nerves of forelimb and hindlimb or cutaneous mechanoreceptor discharges evoked by taps to footpads of forelimb and hindlimb. There has been physiological confirmation of the anatomical findings that RD neurons projecting to the lumbar cord are located in the ventrolateral zone of the pars magnocellularis, whereas in the dorsomedial zone are RN neurons with cervical but not lumbar projection.