Point 4 Intro Pathway Deficit Note Overview Problems Contents Anatomy

The dorsal column-medial lemniscal system carries information from specialized touch, pressure, vibration, and joint receptors to the cerebral cortex. While lesions of the dorsal columns (fasciculi gracilis and cuneatus) in the spinal cord result in IPSILATERAL deficits, lesions of the medial lemniscus, in the brain stem, result in CONTRALATERAL deficits (since its constituent axons have crossed). This is important to understand. Also, do not confuse VPM (head, trigeminal, trigeminothalamic) with VPL (body, medial lemniscus).