Human brain as nuclei involved in the regulation of many essential processes including breathing, control of eye movements and balance. The reticular formation, a network of nuclei of ill-defined formation, is present within and along the length of the brainstem. Many nerve tracts, which transmit information to and from the cerebral cortex to the rest of the body, pass through the brainstem. The human brain is primarily composed of neurons, glial cells, neural stem cells, and blood vessels. Types of neuron include interneurons, pyramidal cells including Betz cells, motor neurons (upper and lower motor neurons), and cerebellar Purkinje cells. Betz cells are
Radial glial cell to replace lost or damaged tissue in a process known as gliosis. Radial glial cells originate from the transformation of neuroepithelial cells that form the neural plate during the early phases of pre-natal neurogenesis. This process is mediated through the down-regulation of epithelium-related protein expression (such as tight junctions) and an up-regulation of glial-specific features such as glycogen granules, the astrocyte glutamate transporter (GLAST), the intermediate filament vimentin, and, in some instances, including humans, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). After this transition, radial glia retain many of the original characteristics of neuroepithelial cells including: their apical-basal polarity, their position along