supranuclear

Above (cranial to) the level of the motor neurons of the spinal or cranial nerves; the pathways the suprasegmental nerve fibers follow to reach the motor cell bodies in the brainstem; as used in clinical neurology, s. indicates disorders of movement caused by destruction or functional impairment of brain structures other than the motor neurons, such as the motor cortex, pyramidal tract, or striate body; e.g., s. palsy, as distinguished from the nuclear (or flaccid, or “lower motor neuron”) paralysis that results from destruction or functional impairment of the motor neurons or their axons in a peripheral nerve.

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su·pra·nu·cle·ar -'n(y)ü-klē-ər adj situated, occurring, or produced by a lesion superior or cortical to a nucleus esp. of the brain

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su·pra·nu·cle·ar (soo″prə-nooґkle-ər) located or occurring superior to or on the cortical side of a nucleus in the nervous system.