Anterior funiculus

The anterior funiculus (a.k.a. anterior white column) refers to the white matter tracts which reside between the exit points of the anterior nerve rootlets from the anterolateral sulci of the spinal cord.

The anterior funiculus comprises of several ascending and descending white matter tracts. The ascending tracts are sensory in nature. An example of an important sensory tract in the anterior funiculus includes the anterior spinothalamic tract, which relays sensory information of light touch and pressure to the thalamus.

The descending tracts are motor in nature. These are upper motor neurons which synapse with the alpha and gamma motor neurons in the anterior gray horns of the spinal cord, to modulate the working of the reflex arc. The important descending tracts in the anterior funiculus include the anterior corticospinal tract which controls the muscle tone and movements of the axial or truncal musculature, the tectospinal tract which contributes to spinovisual reflexes by causing the neck to move towards the visual stimulus. Others include the vestibulospinal tract and the pontine reticulospinal tract originating from the vestibular nuclei and the reticular formation in the pons.

Some descending autonomic tracts are also believed to run in the anterior funiculus (as part of the reticulospinal tracts). These arise from the hypothalamus and control the sympathetic and parasympathetic neuronal outflows.