Neurodegenerative Diseases
This progressive disease, the most common cause of dementia, is characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
This common disorder is characterized by persistent and excessive worry that is difficult to control, often accompanied by restlessness and fatigue.
What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
This is the process by which sensory organs, like the eye or ear, convert physical stimuli into electrical signals the brain can understand.
What is transduction?
This largest part of the human brain is responsible for higher functions like thought, language, and conscious movement.
What is the cerebrum or cerebral cortex?
This "feel-good" neurotransmitter is central to the brain's reward pathway and is targeted by stimulants like cocaine.
What is dopamine?
In this motor neuron disease, the degeneration of nerve cells leads to muscle weakness and paralysis, but cognition typically remains intact.
What is ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig's Disease?
This mood disorder involves alternating periods of depression and abnormally elevated mood, which can be either manic or less severe hypomanic episodes.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
These specialized neurons in the retina, known as rods and these, are responsible for detecting light.
What are photoreceptors?
This structure, located at the back of the brain, is critical for coordinating movement and balance.
What is the cerebellum?
SSRI antidepressants work by increasing the available levels of this neurotransmitter in the synapse, which is involved in regulating mood, sleep, and appetite.
What is serotonin?
This movement disorder results from the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to tremors and rigidity.
What is Parkinson's Disease?
A core symptom of this severe disorder is psychosis, which can include positive symptoms like hallucinations and negative symptoms like reduced emotional expression.
What is Schizophrenia?
The primary organ for hearing, this spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear contains the hair cells that detect sound vibrations.
What is the cochlea?
This deep, limbic system structure is essential for forming new declarative memories.
What is the hippocampus?
This major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain is the target for anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines, which enhance its calming effects.
What is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)?
This fatal inherited disorder causes uncontrolled movements, cognitive decline, and psychiatric symptoms due to a genetic defect on chromosome 4.
What is Huntington's disease?
These disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions.
What are Eating Disorders?
In the olfactory system, signals bypass the thalamus and go directly to this limbic system structure, explaining why smells can trigger powerful memories.
What is the amygdala?
This brain structure acts as the body's "master regulator," controlling the pituitary gland and maintaining homeostasis.
What is the hypothalamus?
Drugs like morphine and heroin mimic the body's own endorphins by binding to these receptors, blocking pain signals and producing euphoria.
What are opioid receptors?
This term describes the abnormal, misfolded proteins that are a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's and prions in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
What are proteinopathies?
This neurodevelopmental disorder is characterized by two main symptom domains: persistent deficits in social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior.
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
This sense, our ability to perceive the position and movement of our body parts, relies on receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints.
What is proprioception?
This thin, outer layer of neural tissue covering the cerebrum, characterized by its folded, convoluted surface of gyri and sulci.
What is the cerebral cortex?
This term describes the process where a neuron reabsorbs a neurotransmitter from the synapse, a key mechanism targeted by many drugs to prolong a signal.
What is reuptake?