The intermediolateral nucleus (IML) is a region of gray matter found in Rexed lamina VII of the spinal column.

The RVLM is the primary regulator of the sympathetic nervous system, sending excitatory fibers (glutamatergic) to the sympathetic preganglionic neurons located in the intermediolateral nucleus of the spinal cord.

Thermogenesis - this is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system starting in the dorsolateral preoptic area of the anterior hypothalamus via projections from the rostral raphe pallidus to the spinal intermediolateral nucleus nonshivering thermogenesis by brown adipose tissue.