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Pyramidal System

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

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Synonyms

Lateral corticospinal tract; Upper motor neurons

Definition

The pyramidal tract is a major efferent (outgoing) bundle of motor neurons that originates in the sensorimotor area of the cerebral cortex, descends through the internal capsule and into the brain stem to synapse in the spinal cord. The pyramidal tract transmits signals that function to control voluntary movements.

Current Knowledge

Overall Function

The pyramidal (or corticospinal) tract controls voluntary motor activity, primarily of the limbs, as well as modulation of sensory input through ascending sensory pathways (Berne and Levy 2000). The fibers of the corticospinal tract control somatic motor activity.

Pyramidal Tract Pathway

The pyramidal tract projects from the motor cortex to lower motor neurons that are located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. One third of the cells of origin are located in the primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe (Brodman’s area 4)) and anterior paracentral...

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References and Readings

  • Berne, R. M., & Levy, M. N. (2000). Principles of physiology. St. Louis: Mosby.

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  • Fix, J. (1995). Neuroanatomy. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

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  • Haines, D. E. (2000). Neuroanatomy. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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  • Haines, D. E. (2004). Neuroanatomy: An atlas of structures, sections, and systems. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkens.

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  • Kandel, E. R., Schwartz, J. H., & Jessel, T. M. (1991). Principles of neuroscience. Norwalk: Appleton and Lange.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 980631, Richmond, VA, USA

    Christina R. Marmarou

Authors
  1. Christina R. Marmarou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina R. Marmarou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Marmarou, C.R. (2017). Pyramidal System. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_356-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_356-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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