What's in a Brain Region
Shaped like an almond, this bilateral brain region is responsible for modulating fear and other emotions.
What is the Amygdala?
Acute inflammation of the brain via infection or autoimmune attack that can lead to swelling of tissues, seizures, and headache.
What is Encephalitis?
The base form of communication between two neurons.
What is an Action Potential?
The excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.
What is Glutamate?
What is Calcium?
Composed of three parts, this region of the brain is responsible for vital life functions such as sleep and heart rate.
What is the Brainstem?
Loss of muscle control in any peripheral extremity; can lead to balance and coordination issues, particularly when walking.
What is Ataxia?
This part of a neuron takes in information from multiple nearby axons; it is known for its branching appearance and presence of smaller "spines."
What are Dendrites?
The inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain.
What is GABA?
There are more nerve cells in what part of the body than there are stars in the Milky Way.
What is the Brain?
A region of the brain that is responsible for maintaining homeostasis; it is directly connected to the "master gland."
What is the Hypothalamus?
A fatal type of motor neuron disease that causes progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. Famously named after a baseball player.
What is ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease?
A type of receptor on the presynaptic cell that is crucial for negative feedback and decreased release of neurotransmitter.
What is an Autoreceptor?
This neurotransmitter is directly tied to feelings of pleasure, motivation, and addiction.
What is Dopamine?
Known as the "relay station" of the brain, every sense goes through the thalamus except this one.
What is Olfaction?
Two side by side structures; the superior aids in processing visual stimuli, while the inferior aids in processing auditory stimuli. They help with orienting motor responses.
What are the Colliculi?
This disorder is classified by unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis on only one side of the face. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve (the 7th cranial nerve), but is not considered permanent.
What is Bell's Palsy?
An electrical synapse, characterized by a direct physical connection between two neurons that allows ions and small molecules to flow directly from one cell's cytoplasm to the other, is also known as this.
What is a Gap Junction?
Necessary for learning and memory, this neurotransmitter comes in nicotinic and muscarinic varieties.
What is Acetylcholine?
An X-shaped structure along the base of the brain where special nerves relating to vision partially cross over so that the brain may receive visual information from both eyes.
What is the Optic Chiasm?
When this part of the brain is damaged, patients experience trouble producing speech; meanwhile, they can understand others well.
A condition that generally develops later in life when antibodies in the body attack normal receptors on muscle, blocking a chemical needed to stimulate muscle contraction. Can lead to drooping eyelids, trouble swallowing, and shortness of breath.
What is Myasthenia Gravis?
Frequently seen when discussing learning and memory, this process allows for the strengthening of a synapse overtime with repeated activation; particularly denoted by the increase of AMPA receptors on the post-synaptic membrane.
What is Long Term Potentiation (LTP)?
This neurotransmitter has various functions in the brain, but is most commonly associated with an immune-response and has been tied to disorders relating to stress, feeding, and wakefulness.
What is Histamine?
Known as the "second brain," this nervous system is a little closer to your stomach than you think.
What is the Enteric Nervous System?