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Branchial motor
Visceral motor
Visceral sensory
General sensory
Special sensory| Cranial Nerve IX - Glossopharyngeal | Page 22 of 22 |
Central course - special sensory component
The central processes of these neurons exit the inferior ganglion and pass through the jugular foramen to enter the brainstem at the level of the rostral medulla between the olive and inferior cerebellar peduncle.
Upon entering the medulla these fibers ascend in the tractus solitarius and synapse in the caudal nucleus solitarius. Taste fibers from CN VII and X also ascend and synapse here.
Figure 9-22a. Central course - special sensory component.
Ascending secondary neurons originating in nucleus solitarius project bilaterally to the ventral posteromedial (VPM) nuclei of the thalamus via the central tegmental tract.
Tertiary neurons from the thalamus project via the posterior limb of the internal capsule to the inferior one-third of the primary sensory cortex (the gustatory cortex of the parietal lobe).
Figure 9-22b. Central course - special sensory component.
