A review of corticospinal tract location at corona radiata and posterior limb of the internal capsule in human brain

Abstract

The corticospinal tract (CST) is the most important motor pathway in the human brain, therefore, the accurate estimation of the CST state following brain injury would enable us to predict the motor outcome or enable accurate surgical planning. The corona radiata (CR) and the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PL) are important locations because they are related to poor motor outcome. In this study, we reviewed the available literature regarding the location of the CST at the CR and PL in the human brain. The results of this review indicate that the CST is located in the posterior portion of the CR and PL. However, a direct comparison of the results of previous studies would be impossible because many of the previous studies did not define the exact boundary or analytic standards used to locate the CR or PL. Therefore, further complementary studies that define these in detail are warranted.