Final answer:
The lateral corticospinal tract is a descending tract that facilitates voluntary control of skeletal muscles and is not an ascending tract that carries sensory information.
Step-by-step explanation:
The lateral corticospinal tract is a descending tract that is part of the motor pathway responsible for voluntary movement control. Its upper motor neurons originate in the primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe and descend through the brain, decussating at the medullary-spinal border and then progressing down the spinal cord.
The tract synapses with lower motor neurons, which ultimately project to and control the skeletal muscles. In contrast, an ascending tract would carry sensory information from the periphery to the brain.