Brainstem: Medulla, Pons, and Midbrain

The role of the brainstem is divisible into three broad categories. The first is to provide transit and processing nuclei for ascending and descending pathways that convey influences to and from the cerebrum, cerebellum, and spinal cord. The second is to play a part in a range of activities such as consciousness, the sleep-wake cycle, and respiratory and cardiovascular control. The third relates to actions of the cranial nerves, which are comprised of sensory fibers terminating in brainstem nuclei and motoneurons originating in brainstem nuclei. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.