Osmosis video - Pyramidal and extrapyramidal tracts

Pyramidal tracts are long nerve pathways in the brain that transmit signals from the cerebral cortex to the spinal cord, through the medullary pyramids. They control the voluntary motor function of the body and face. Neurons in the pyramidal tract are composed of upper motor neurons that directly innervate lower motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord. In contrast to the pyramidal tracts, the extrapyramidal tracts do not start in the cerebral cortex. Instead, their upper motor neurons are located within nuclei in the brain stem and they send their axons down the spinal cord and are involved in the control of movement and coordination.