Accessory oculomotor nuclei

Not to be confused with the Edinger–Westphal nucleus (also known as the accessory oculomotor nucleus).

The accessory oculomotor nuclei are a group of nuclei situated in the rostral mesencephalon (midbrain) near its junction with the diencephalon, and consist of:[1]

These nuclei are involved in vertical and rotatory gaze (physiology), and smooth pursuit. They receive afferents from the visual association area; they project efferents through the medial longitudinal fasciculus to the nuclei of cranial nerves controlling extrinsic eye muscles.[2]

  1. ^ Kiernan, John A.; Rajakumar, Nagalingam (2013). Barr's The Human Nervous System: An Anatomical Viewpoint (10th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4511-7327-7.
  2. ^ Patestas, Maria A.; Gartner, Leslie P. (2016). A Textbook of Neuroanatomy (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-118-67746-9.