Anterolateral system
Encyclopedia
In the nervous system
, the anterolateral system (ALS) is an ascending pathway that conveys pain
, temperature
(protopathic sensation), and crude touch
from the periphery to the brain
. It comprises three main pathways:
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...
, the anterolateral system (ALS) is an ascending pathway that conveys pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
, temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
(protopathic sensation), and crude touch
Crude touch
Crude touch is a sensory modality which allows the subject to sense that something has touched them, without being able to localise where they were touched...
from the periphery to the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. It comprises three main pathways:
| Name | Destination | Function >- | spinothalamic tract Spinothalamic tract The spinothalamic tract is a sensory pathway originating in the spinal cord. It transmits information to the thalamus about pain, temperature, itch and crude touch... (lateral Lateral spinothalamic tract The lateral spinothalamic tract , which is a part of the Anterolateral system, is a bundle of sensory axons ascending through the white matter of the spinal cord, carrying sensory information to the brain. It carries pain and temperature sensory information to the thalamus of the brain... and anterior Anterior spinothalamic tract The ventral spinothalamic fasciculus situated in the marginal part of the anterior funiculus and intermingled more or less with the vestibulo-spinal fasciculus, is derived from cells in the posterior column or intermediate gray matter of the opposite side... ) |
thalamus Thalamus The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections... |
>- | reticular formation Reticular formation The reticular formation is a part of the brain that is involved in actions such as awaking/sleeping cycle, and filtering incoming stimuli to discriminate irrelevant background stimuli... |
>- | tectum | orients the eyes and head towards the stimuli |