The lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiters's nucleus) is the continuation upward and lateralward of the principal nucleus, and in it terminate many of the ascending branches of the

vestibular nerve The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information transmitted by vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith orga ...

Structure

It consists of very large

multipolar cells A multipolar neuron is a type of neuron that possesses a single axon and many dendrites (and dendritic branches), allowing for the integration of a great deal of information from other neurons. These processes are projections from the neuron ce ...

whose

axons An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action po ...

form an important part of the posterior longitudinal bundle (aka

medial longitudinal fasciculus The medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) is an area of crossed over tracts, on each side of the brainstem. These bundles of axons are situated near the midline of the brainstem. They are made up of both ascending and descending fibers that ar ...

) of the same and the opposite side. The axons bifurcate as they enter the posterior longitudinal bundle, * the ''ascending branches'' send terminals and collaterals to the

motor nuclei An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

of the

abducens The abducens nerve or abducent nerve, also known as the sixth cranial nerve, cranial nerve VI, or simply CN VI, is a cranial nerve in humans and various other animals that controls the movement of the lateral rectus muscle, one of the extraocula ...

, trochlear and

oculomotor nerve The oculomotor nerve, also known as the third cranial nerve, cranial nerve III, or simply CN III, is a cranial nerve that enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure and innervates extraocular muscles that enable most movements o ...

s via the ascending component of the

, and are concerned in coördinating the movements of the eyes with alterations in the position of the head; * the ''descending branches'' pass down in the posterior longitudinal bundle into the

anterior funiculus In the spinal cord, the most lateral of the bundles of the ventral nerve roots is generally taken as a dividing line that separates the antero-lateral region into two parts: an anterior funiculus (or anterior column), between the anterior median ...

of the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spin ...

as the

vestibulospinal fasciculus The vestibulospinal tract is a neural tract in the central nervous system. Specifically, it is a component of the extrapyramidal system and is classified as a component of the medial pathway. Like other descending motor pathways, the vestibulospina ...

( anterior marginal bundle) and are distributed to motor nuclei of the anterior column by terminals and collaterals. Other fibers are said to pass directly to the vestibulospinal fasciculus without passing into the posterior longitudinal bundle. The fibers which pass into the vestibulospinal fasciculus are intimately concerned with equilibratory reflexes. Other axons from Deiters’s nucleus are supposed to cross and ascend in the opposite medial lemniscus to the ventro-lateral nuclei of the

thalamus The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all direction ...

; still other fibers pass into the cerebellum with the inferior peduncle and are distributed to the cortex of the vermis and the roof nuclei of the cerebellum; according to Cajal they merely pass through the

nucleus fastigii The fastigial nucleus is located in the cerebellum. It is one of the four deep cerebellar nuclei (the others being the nucleus dentatus, nucleus emboliformis and nucleus globosus), and is grey matter embedded in the white matter of the cerebellu ...

on their way to the cortex of the

vermis The cerebellar vermis (from Latin ''vermis,'' "worm") is located in the medial, cortico-nuclear zone of the cerebellum, which is in the posterior fossa of the cranium. The primary fissure in the vermis curves ventrolaterally to the superior surf ...

and the hemisphere.

History

Eponym

Deiter's nucleus was named after German

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...

Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters (1834–1863).

References

{{Authority control Cranial nerve nuclei