Reticular Formation Dendrites and Axons

Dendrites

Dendrites of the RF neurons are oriented in the plane perpendicular to the AP and DV-axes.

There are three categories of dendritic patterning in the RF:

• Isodendritic - Symmetric neurons possessing dendrites that radiate in all directions over large distances and subsequently branch out and overlap with neighboring nuclei.


• Idiodendritic - Specialized neurons possessing dendrites tend to stay entirely within a zone or nucleus.


• Allodendritic - Morphologically specialized neurons possessing dentrites that are intermediate between isodendritic and idiodendritic.

Isodendritic neurons are the most abundant type of reticular neuron and form the bulk of the reticular core.

Axons

The RF distributes it's axons widely along the anterior-posterior axis via reticulospinal, reticulothalamic, and reticulocortical pathways making it a key integration point in neurophysiological functions.

There are two major types of RF axonal outflow, one ascending and the other descending, which originate mainly in the medialRF and travel along the AP-axis of the CNS.