Editing Spinothalamic tract (section)

==Function==
The types of sensory information means that the sensation is accompanied by a [[reflex]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

There are two sub-systems identified: 
* Direct (for direct conscious appreciation of pain) 
* Indirect (for affective and arousal impact of pain). Indirect projections include 
** Spino-Reticulo-Thalamo-Cortical (part of the [[ascending reticular activating system]] (ARAS)
** Spino-Mesencephalic-Limbic (for affective impact of pain).

===Anterolateral system===
The [[anterolateral system]] (ALS) is an ascending bundle of fibers in the spinal cord, carried in three main pathways or [[nerve tract|tracts]].<ref name="Haines"/> The tracts  convey [[pain]],<ref name="urlChapter 25:Neural Mechanisms of Cardiac Pain: The Anterolateral System">{{cite web |url=http://symptomresearch.nih.gov/chapter_25/sec3/crfs3pg1.htm |title=Chapter 25:Neural Mechanisms of Cardiac Pain: The Anterolateral System |access-date=2009-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811084717/http://symptomresearch.nih.gov/chapter_25/sec3/crfs3pg1.htm |archive-date=2010-08-11 }}</ref> [[temperature]] ([[protopathic sensation]]), and [[crude touch]] from the periphery to the [[brain]]. The most important of these is the spinothalamic tract.<ref name="Al-Chalabi"/>

{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Destination !! Function
|-
| spinothalamic tract ([[Lateral spinothalamic tract|lateral]] and [[Anterior spinothalamic tract|anterior]]) || [[thalamus]] || important in the localization of painful or thermal stimuli
|-
| [[spinoreticular tract]]  || [[reticular formation]] || causes alertness and arousal in response to painful stimuli
|-
| [[spinotectal tract]] || [[tectum]] || orients the eyes and head towards the stimuli
|}