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Neuroinfo (Subject) / bla (Lesson)
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- association cortex De ned by exclusion as those neocortical regions that are not involved in primary sensory or motor processing
- central nervous system (CNS) The brain and spinal cord of vertebrates (by analogy, the central nerve cord and ganglia of invertebrates).
- cerebral cortex The super cial gray matter of the cerebral hemispheres
- corpus callosum The large midline ber bundle that connects the cortices of the two cerebral hemispheres.
- cortex The super cial mantle of gray matter (a sheet-like array of nerve cells) covering the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum, where most of the neurons in the brain are located.
- gray matter General term that describes regions of the central nervous system rich in neuronal cell bodies and neuropil; includes the cerebral and cerebellar cortices, the nuclei of the brain, and the central portion of the spinal cord.
- gyrus The ridges of the infolded cerebral cortex (the valleys between these ridges are called sulci)
- limbic system Term that refers to those cortical and subcortical structures concerned with the emotions; the most prominent components are the cingulate gyrus, the hippocampus, and the amygdala
- neocortex The six-layered cortex that forms the surface of most of the cerebral hemispheres.
- peripheral nervous system (PNS) All nerves and neurons that lie outside the brain and spinal cord.
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- spinal cord The portion of the central nervous system that extends from the lower end of the brainstem (the medulla) to the cauda equina.
- white matter A general term that refers to large axon tracts in the brain and spinal cord; the phrase derives from the fact that axonal tracts have a whitish cast when viewed in the freshly cut material.
- action potential The electrical signal conducted along axons (or muscle bers) by which information is conveyed from one place to another in the nervous system.
- afferent A neuron or axon that conducts action potentials from the periphery toward the central nervous system.
- axon The neuronal process that carries the action potential from the nerve cell body to a target.
- dendrite A neuronal process arising from the nerve cell body that receives synaptic input.
- efferent A neuron or axon that conducts information away from the central nervous system toward the periphery.
- interneuron Technically, a neuron in the pathway between primary sensory and primarye ector neurons; more generally,a neuron whose relatively short axons branch locally to innervate other neurons. Also known as local circuit neuron.
- synapse Specialized terminal between two neurons that is responsible for transmitting information across the two two neurons, either chemically or electrically.
- neurotransmitter Substance released by synaptic terminals for the purpose of transmitting information from one cell (the presynaptic cell) to another (the postsynaptic cell).
- excitatory neuron A neuron that excites its post-synaptic neuron thus increasing the chances of action potentials in the post-synaptic cell.
- inhibitory neuron A neuron that inhibits its post-synaptic neuron thus reducing the chances of action potentials in the post-synaptic cell.
- soma The cell body of a neuron.