TERMS Flashcards
Action Potential
An action potential is part of the process that occurs during the firing of a neuron. During the action potential, part of the neural membrane opens to allow positively charged ions inside the cell and negatively charged ions out.
Adaptive Plasticity
The ability of the brain to change, adapt and grow throughout life(but does diminish with age)
Animal Modelling
An animal model is a non-human species used in medical research because it can mimic aspects of a disease found in humans. Animal models are used to obtain information about a disease and its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
Aphasia
The impairment of language caused by damage to the brain (usually stroke)
Association Areas
Regions of the cerebral lobes that are not part of the sensory (visual, auditory, somatosensory) or motor cortices. The association areas make up 75% of the cortex and integrate information between the motor and sensory areas and higher order mental processing.
Autonomic Nervous System
Consists of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches. It is responsible for the communication between the bodies non skeletal muscles and the internal organs and glands that carry out bodily functions. The automatic nervous system operates without voluntary control or conscious awareness.
Axon
The part of a neuron along which the electrochemical nerve impulse is transmitted
Axon Terminals
An Axon Terminal is the very end of a branch of a nerve’s axon, a long slender nerve fibre that conducts electrical signals to a nerve synapse . The signal then moves across the synapse to another axon by means of a neurotransmitter
Broca’s Area
The speech production centre of the brain
Central Nervous System
Comprised of the brain and spinal cord, the CNS controls the body by processing and responding to sensory input from the peripheral nervous system
Cerebellum
A component of the hind brain that coordinates the sequence of body movement
Cerebral Cortex
A thin layer covering the cerebrum, containing billions of neurons, that allows us to undertake a range of tasks and is responsible for receiving information from the environment, controlling responses and higher order thinking processes
Cerebrum
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Circuit Formation
A process that incolves axons of new neurons growing out to target cells, forming new synapses with them (aka synaptogenesis)
Corpus Callosum
The thick band of about 200 million nerve fibres connecting the right and left hemispheres
CT
A computerized tomography scan (CT or CAT scan) uses computers and rotating X-ray machines to create cross-sectional images of the body. These images provide more detailed information than normal X-ray images. They can show the soft tissues, blood vessels, and bones in various parts of the body. A CT scan may be used to visualize the head, shoulders, spine, heart, abdomen, knee and chest
Deep Brain Stimulation
A procedure based on electrical stimulation of the brain that involves the insertion of three components (an implanted pulse generator, a lead and an extension that links them together) into a persons body. Electrical currents are activated to provide relief or control of symptoms, such as those experienced by patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Dendrites
Branch like segments of a neuron, which recieve signals from other neurons or sensory receptors via the synapses and deliver these to the soma
Dopamine
Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That’s why it’s sometimes called a chemical messenger.
fMRI
An fMRI scan is a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan that measures and maps the brain’s activity. An fMRI scan uses the same technology as an MRI scan. An MRI is a noninvasive test that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create an image of the brain. The image an MRI scan produces is just of organs/tissue, but an fMRI will produce an image showing the blood flow in the brain. By showing the blood flow it will display which parts of the brain are being stimulated.
Frontal Lobe
The largest lobe of the brain, it has several functions, including, initiating movement of the body, language, planning, judgement, problem-solving, aspects of personality and emotions. It is extremely well developed in higher mammals
Glial Cells
Cells that play an important role in supporting neurons by surrounding and holding them in place, supplying nourishment and oxygen, removing dead neurons and insulating neurons to increase the speed of neuron transmission
Hypothalamus
Structure of the forebrai n that plays a major role in controlling emotion and motivated behaviours such as eating, drinking and sexual activity
Insidious Onset
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L-DOPA
Levodopa is the precursor to dopamine. Most commonly, clinicians use levodopa as a dopamine replacement agent for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Medulla
A component of the hind brain, located in the brainstem, it controls many involuntary actions such as breathing, heart beat and digestion
Migration
During developmental plasticity, the movement of newly found neurons
MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI for short, is very safe. It is a completely non-invasive procedure. This means that no chemicals or radiation (as is the case with X-rays) are used to create images. Instead it uses a powerful magnet and radio frequencies to create images of tissue in your body.
Myelin Sheath
The myelin sheath is a greatly extended and modified plasma membrane wrapped around the nerve axon in a spiral fashion
Myelination
The production of the white, fatty covering that insulates a neurons axon, speed transmission and aids coordination
Neurotransmitter
Chemicals that help the communication across nerve synapses
Occipital Lobe
The cerebral cortex at the rear of the brain. It is the location of the primary visual cortex and association areas involved with integration of visual stimuli
Parasympathetic Nervous System
A branch of the autonomic nervous system , responsible for maintaining our day-to-day functioning and for most of the automatic functions of the body such as digestion, heart rate, breathing and some glandular functions
Parietal Lobe
The location of the primary somatosensory cortex in the brain. The parietal lobes enable a person to perceive their own body and to perceive where things are located in their immediate environment
Parkinson’s Disease
A neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the degeneration of dopamine producing neurons, which leads sufferers to present with motor symptoms (such as slowness of movemnt, rigidity and involuntary tremors) and non-motor symptoms (such as pain, depression and dementia)
Peripheral Nervous Systems
Communicates information from the body to the CNS and to the bodies organs, glands and muscles
PET
A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test that allows your doctor to check for diseases in your body. The scan uses a special dye containing radioactive tracers. These tracers are either swallowed, inhaled, or injected into a vein in your arm depending on what part of the body is being examined. Certain organs and tissues then absorb the tracer. The tracers help your doctor to see how well your organs and tissues are working.
Phrenology
A pseudoscience that suggests our mental abilities and personality are controlled by 37 areas of the brain and the shape and size of the skull can be measured to determine a persons character
Plasticity
The ability of the brain synapses to be modified
Pons
Part of the brain stem (above the medulla) that is responsible for sleep and arousal, and receives information sent from the visual areas to control eye and body actions
Primary Auditory Cortex
Located in the upper part of the temporal lobes. Receives sounds from the ears
Primary Motor Cortex
Located at the rear of each frontal lobe. Responsible for movement of the skeletal muscles of the body
Primary Somatosensory Cortex
Located at the front of each parietal lobe. Processes sensations such as touch pressure, temperature and pain from the body
Primary Visual Cortex
Located in the occipital lobes. Processes information from the eyes
Proliferation
The first stage in the development of the nervous system, where cells destined to become neurons multiply
Reticular Formation
A network of neurons, sitting across both the midbrain and the hindbrain and connecting the hindbrain and the forebrain, that plays an important role in the control of arousal and the ‘sleeping and walking’ cycle
Sensitive Periods
Periods in time which are particularly suited to learning things due to the nature of the growing brain
Soma
The cell body, and largest part of the neuron, that controls the metabolism and maintenance of the cell
Somatic Nervous System
The division of the peripheral nervous system that carries sensory information into the CNS, and also carries motor commands from the CNS to the skeletal muscles
Spacial Neglect
A disorder in which the person affected systematically ignores the stimuli on one side of their body. Spatial neglect occurs after brain damage, usually in the posterior region of their right parietal lobe and results in the person ignoring the stimuli on their left side
Spinal Cord
The bundle of nerve fibres connecting the brain with the PNS
Substantia Nigra
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Sudden Onset
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Sympathetic Nervous System
A branch of the autonomic nervous system that activates the fight, flight or freeze response
Synapse
The connection between two neurons
Synaptic Pruning
The loss of a number of overabundant neural connections usually formed in infancy and childhood
Synaptogenisis
The process of moulding or forming new synapses
Temporal Lobe
The part of the forebrain beneath the temporal plate of the skull, at the side of the head above the ears. Contains Wernicke’s Area and the primary auditory cortex
Thalamus
A structure which is shaped like two eggs beneath the cortex; it processes incoming sensory information and transmits it to the other higher parts of the brain for further processing. It also directs attention to specific sensory systems
Wernicke’s Area
Part of the left temporal lobe, responsible for language reception and interpretation and for creation of grammatically correct speech.
