Midbrain

midbrain, also called mesencephalon, region of the developing vertebrate brain that is composed of the tectum and tegmentum. The midbrain serves important functions in motor movement, particularly movements of the eye, and in auditory and visual processing. It is located within the brainstem and between the two other developmental regions of the brain, the forebrain and the hindbrain; compared with those regions, the midbrain is relatively small.

The tectum (from Latin for “roof”) makes up the rear portion of the midbrain and is formed by two paired rounded swellings, the superior and inferior colliculi. The superior colliculus receives input from the retina and the visual cortex and participates in a variety of visual reflexes, particularly the tracking of objects in the visual field. The inferior colliculus receives both crossed and uncrossed auditory fibres and projects upon the medial geniculate body, the auditory relay nucleus of the thalamus.

The tegmentum is located in front of the tectum. It consists of fibre tracts and three regions distinguished by their colour—the red nucleus, the periaqueductal gray, and the substantia nigra. The red nucleus is a large structure located centrally within the tegmentum that is involved in the coordination of sensorimotor information. Crossed fibres of the superior cerebellar peduncle (the major output system of the cerebellum) surround and partially terminate in the red nucleus. Most crossed ascending fibres of that bundle project to thalamic nuclei, which have access to the primary motor cortex. A smaller number of fibres synapse on large cells in caudal regions of the red nucleus; those give rise to the crossed fibres of the rubrospinal tract, which runs to the spinal cord and is influenced by the motor cortex.

The substantia nigra is a large pigmented cluster of neurons that consists of two parts, the pars reticulata and the pars compacta. Cells of the pars compacta contain the dark pigment melanin; these cells synthesize dopamine and project to either the caudate nucleus or the putamen, both of which are structures of the basal ganglia and are involved in mediating movement and motor coordination. These two structures, in addition to the globus pallidus, form the striatum. By inhibiting the action of neurons in the caudate nucleus and the putamen, the dopaminergic cells of the pars compacta influence the neuronal output of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). The neurons in turn project to the cells of the pars reticulata, which, by projecting fibres to the thalamus, are part of the output system of the corpus striatum.

The periaqueductal gray region of the tegmentum is made up of gray matter (neural tissue with relatively few axons covered in myelin) and surrounds the cerebral aqueduct, a short canal that runs between the third and fourth ventricles of the brain. The periaqueductal gray appears to function primarily in pain suppression, a result of its naturally high concentrations of endorphins.

Also within the midbrain are the crus cerebri, tracts made up of neurons that connect the cerebral hemispheres to the cerebellum. The midbrain also contains a portion of the reticular formation, a neural network that is involved in arousal and alertness. Cranial nerves in the midbrain that stimulate the muscles controlling eye movement, lens shape, and pupil diameter form the nuclear complex of the oculomotor nerve and the trochlear nucleus.

The midbrain is affected by certain developmental disorders, including cobblestone lissencephaly (type II lissencephaly), in which neurons fail to migrate between the 12th and the 24th week of gestation, resulting in a lack of formation of grooves and folds in the brain surface.