Parabrachial area

In the human brain, the parabrachial area (parabrachial complex) is a horseshoe-shaped strip of gray matter comprising the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus, the lateral parabrachial nucleus and the medial parabrachial nucleus. It is located at the junction of the midbrain and pons in the lateral reticular formation, rostral to the parvocellular reticular nucleus near the superior cerebellar peduncle. It gets its name from its closeness to the superior cerebellar peduncle, which is also known as the "brachia conjunctiva."

The Kölliker-Fuse nucleus receives signals from the caudal part of the solitary nucleus and sends signals to the lower medulla oblongata, the spinal cord, the amygdala and the lateral hypothalamus; the medial parabrachial nucleus relays information from the cephalic gustatory portion of the solitary nucleus to the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus; and the lateral parabrachial nucleus receives information from the caudal solitary tract and transmits signals mainly to the medial hypothalamus but also to the lateral hypothalamus and many of the nuclei targeted by the medial parabrachial nucleus.