Brain & Cognition some random concepts

Vomeronasal organ (VNO)

contains sensory neurons that detect pheromones (molecules that carry information between individuals of the same species)

the law of Bell and Magendie

the posterior/dorsal side of the spinal cord is sensory and the anterior/ventral side is motor in all vertebrates

prions

misfolded proteins that cause other proteins to misfold

wild-type allele

nucleotide sequence that is most common in a population

transgenic animal

product of technology in which one or more genes from one species is introduced into the genome of another species to be passed along and expressed in subsequent generations

EEG

graph of electrical activity from brain, which is mainly composed of graded potentials from many neurons

nerve impulse

change in concentration of specific ions across the cell membrane

graded potentials

small voltage fluctuations across membranes

back propagation

reverse movement of an action potential from initial segment

preformation

an embryo is just a mini mini adult (think horse seamen)

filopod

one shoot of an axon growth cone

nerve growth factor (NGF)

produced by cortical cells and absorbed by colinergic neurons in the basal forebrain

acuity

sensory sensitivity

papilledema

swollen infection in the eye

optic neuritis

inflammation of the optic nerve

principle of proper mass

the amount of neural tissue responsible for a certain function is proportional to the amount of neural processing that function requires

homonymous hemaniopia

blindness of the entire visual field as caused by a cut in the optic tract, LGN, or V1

nystagmus

constant eye motion

optic ataxia

deficit in the visual control of reaching etc.

prosody

melodic tone of the speaking voice

quadriplegia

full arms and legs paralysis

paraplegia

legs paralysis

hemiplegia

full paralysis of one hemisphere of the body

monoplegia

paralysis of one of 4 limbs

position-point theory

the idea that the motor cortex allows an appropriate body part to be moved to a point in space

volume control theory

the basal ganglia can influence whether movement occurs

selective dystonias

cramps from repetitive movements (eg. writing)

yips

distorted execution of skilled movements in professional athletes

action slips

everyday errors like driving past intended destination or taking the wrong cutlery

inferior olive

nucleus in the brainstem that projects to the cerebrellum

merkel discs

slow adapting receptors that respond to light touch on hairy skin

meissner corpuscles

receptors that respond to rapid vibrations on glabrous skin

pacinian corpuscles

receptors deeper within skin that respond to rapid vibrations and deep pressure

ruffini endings

receptors deeper within skin that respond to slow stretch

gate theory of pain

activities in different sensory pathways play off against each other, determining wheter and how much pain is perceived after injury

unilateral spatial neglect

when you fail to or are slower at acknowledging objects or events in one hemisphere

overt attention

directing attention by physically turning head or moving eyes

covert attention

directing attention without physical movement

early selection theories

a stimulus can be selected for further processing before perceptual analysis is complete

perigeniculate nucleus

portion of the thamalic reticular nucleus that surrounds the LGN

inhibition of return

the response to a stimulus is slower when more than 300 ms pass after a task-irrelevant stimulus is presented. before this the response is actually faster