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This type of descending motor pathway originates in the brainstem and governs automatic movements that help regulate muscle tone, posture and balance.
After originating from the cortex, the neurones converge, and descend through the internal capsule (a white matter pathway, located between the thalamus and the basal ganglia). This is clinically important, as the internal capsule is particularly susceptible to compression from haemorrhagic bleeds, known as a âcapsular strokeâ. Such an event could cause a lesion of the descending tracts. After the internal capsule, the neurones pass through the crus cerebri of the midbrain, the pons and into the medulla. In the most inferior (caudal) part of the medulla, the tract divides into two: The fibres within the lateral corticospinal tract decussate (cross over to the other side of the CNS).