The parvocellular reticular nucleus is part of the

brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

located dorsolateral to the

caudal pontine reticular nucleus The caudal pontine reticular nucleus or nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis is a portion of the reticular formation, composed of gigantocellular neurons. In rabbits and cats it is exclusively giant cells, however in humans there are normally size ...

. The dorsal portion of the reticular nucleus has been shown to innervate the

mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus The mesencephalic nucleus of trigeminal nerve is involved with reflex proprioception of the periodontium and of the muscles of mastication in the jaw that functions to prevent biting down hard enough to lose a tooth. To subserve this reflex protect ...

and its surrounding area. Also, it projects to the

facial nucleus The facial motor nucleus is a collection of neurons in the brainstem that belong to the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII). These lower motor neurons innervate the muscles of facial expression and the stapedius. Structure The nucleus is situated ...

hypoglossal nucleus The hypoglossal nucleus is a cranial nerve nucleus, found within the medulla. Being a motor nucleus, it is close to the midline. In the open medulla, it is visible as what is known as the ''hypoglossal trigone'', a raised area (medial to the vaga ...

and

parabrachial area The parabrachial nuclei, also known as the parabrachial complex, are a group of nuclei in the dorsolateral pons that surrounds the superior cerebellar peduncle as it enters the brainstem from the cerebellum. They are named from the Latin term for ...

along with parts of the caudal parvocellular reticular formation.Ter Horst, GJ et al. Projections from the rostral parvocellular reticular formation to pontine and medullary nuclei in the rat: involvement in autonomic regulation and orofacial motor control. Neuroscience. 1991;40(3):735-58. This nucleus is also involved in

expiration Expiration or expiration date may refer to: Expiration Expiration may refer to: *Death *Exhalation of breath, breathing out * Expiration (options), the legal termination of an option to take an action *Shelf life, or the time after which a product ...

with a part of the

gigantocellular nucleus The gigantocellular reticular nucleus (Gi) is a subregion of the medullary reticular formation. As the name indicates, it consists mainly of so-called giant neuronal cells. This nucleus has been known to innervate the caudal hypoglossal nucleus, ...

References

Medulla oblongata {{Neuroanatomy-stub