The term reticular formation (functional) refers to a set of substructures of the cerebrospinal trunk grouped on the basis of multiple criteria including connectivity and function. It includes areas of the thalamus, hypothalamus, subthalamus, tectum, midbrain tegmentum, pontine tegmentum and medulla. Functionally it is part of the subcortical motor system ( Swanson-2004 ). See also reticular formation (classical).