A tract of motor neurons that extends from the midbrain down to different levels in the spinal cord, carrying impulses that have traveled from the cerebral and cerebellar cortex via the nucleus ruber (red nucleus). The tract plays an important part in the control of skilled and dextrous movements.
A descending tract of fibers arising from cell bodies located in the red nucleus of the midbrain. After leaving the red nucleus, axons cross to the contralateral side and descend into the spinal cord, where they terminate in the ventral horns but not directly on the motor neurons. The red nucleus is innervated from the motor cortices and the cerebellum; the rubrospinal pathway is a nonpyramidal route for cortical motor information to be sent to the spinal cord. A major function of the rubrospinal axons is to set and adjust the muscle tone in the flexor muscles.