nuclei vestibulares

[TA] vestibular nuclei: the four cellular masses in the lateral floor of the fourth ventricle: the superior, lateral, medial, and inferior vestibular nuclei, in which the short ascending and longer descending branches of the vestibular nerve terminate and in which cerebellar projections are received. The nuclei give rise to widely dispersed projections to motor nuclei in the brainstem and cervical cord via the medial longitudinal fasciculi from all the vestibular nuclei to the cerebellum (chiefly from the inferior and medial nuclei), and to motor cells throughout the spinal cord (from the lateral nucleus). Additional connections of the nuclei provide for conscious perception of, and autonomic reactions to, labyrinthine stimulation. Called also acoustic nuclei and nuclei of acoustic nerve.