Differences of the medial lemniscus and spinothalamic tract according to the cortical termination areas: A diffusion tensor tractography study

Abstract

We investigated differences of the medial lemniscus and its thalamocortical pathway (ML), and the spinothalamic tract and its thalamocortical pathway (STT) according to the cortical termination areas. We found that the ML and STT terminated in the motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex. The ML may be closely related to the motor cortex for motor planning and execution, while the STT may be closely related to the cerebral cortex for somatosensory function and motor execution.

• Diffusion tensor imaging
• medial lemniscus
• somatosensory function
• spinothalamic tract

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012R1A1A4A01001873).