Location and Function
- Located in the caudal pons
- Group of second-order neurons
- Receives information about discriminative sensation and light touch of the face
- Receives conscious proprioception of the jaw
- Plays a role in sensory processing of the trigeminal nerve
Sensory Information
- Most sensory information crosses the midline
- Travels to the contralateral ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) of the thalamus
- First-order neurons of CN V transmit the information
- Involved in transmitting information about discriminative sensation and light touch of the face
- Involved in transmitting information about conscious proprioception of the jaw
Oral Cavity Information
- Information about the oral cavity travels to the ipsilateral VPM of the thalamus
- Transmitted via the dorsal trigeminothalamic tract
- Different pathway compared to other sensory information
- Important for processing sensory information related to the oral cavity
- Contributes to the overall sensory perception of the face
Anatomical Identifiers
- Latin term: nucleus principalis nervi trigemini
- NeuroNames identifier: 560
- TA98 identifier: A14.1.05.406
- TA2 identifier: 5932
- FMA identifier: 54533
Role in Neuroanatomy
- Part of the cranial nerve nuclei
- Schematically represented in the dorsal view
- Motor nuclei are represented in red, while sensory nuclei are represented in blue
- Plays a crucial role in sensory processing within the trigeminal nerve
- Contributes to the overall function and perception of the face and oral cavity
The principal sensory nucleus of trigeminal nerve (or chief sensory nucleus of V, main trigeminal sensory nucleus) is a group of second-order neurons which have cell bodies in the caudal pons.
| Principal sensory nucleus of trigeminal nerve | |
|---|---|
 The cranial nerve nuclei schematically represented; dorsal view. Motor nuclei in red; sensory in blue. (Trigeminal nerve nuclei are at "V".) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nucleus principalis nervi trigemini |
| NeuroNames | 560 |
| TA98 | A14.1.05.406 |
| TA2 | 5932 |
| FMA | 54533 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
It receives information about discriminative sensation and light touch of the face as well as conscious proprioception of the jaw via first order neurons of CN V.
