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pontine nuclei

The massive gray matter filling the basilar pons. The nuclei are of fairly homogeneous architecture and project to the cortex of the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere by way of the middle cerebellar peduncle. Their main afferents come from the entire extent of the cerebral neocortex by way of the longitudinal pontine bundles (corticopontine fibres); thus, the pontine nuclei form a major way-station in the impulse conduction from the cerebral cortex of one hemisphere to the posterior lobe of the opposite cerebellum.

Synonym: nuclei pontis, pontine gray matter.