Neuroscience Technical Terms (From Book)

Front 1

Movement of the limb away from the central body axis

Back 1

Abduction

Front 2

Movement of the limb toward the midline/central body axis.

Back 2

Adduction

Front 3

Axonal fibers that conduct impulses toward the central nervous system or nerve cell body.

Back 3

Afferent

Front 4

Forward information flow from the soma (cell body) to the synapse

Back 4

Anterograde (transmission)

Front 5

Toward back of brain or tail of the spinal cord

Back 5

Caudal

Front 6

Sheet of gray matter that covers the cerebral hemispheres and consists of six layers of cells

Back 6

Cerebral cortex

Front 7

Bilaterally located parts of the cerebrum connected by the corpus callosum. Each is made up of the cerebral cortex and deep-lying structures (basal ganglia, thalamus and limbic structures)

Back 7

Cerebral hemisphere

Front 8

The cerebral hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum

Back 8

Cerebrum

Front 9

Vertical section dividing the brain into front and back

Back 9

Coronal

Front 10

Map of brain areas based on their cellular composition. Numbered Brodmann areas form the most widely used map of the brain.

Back 10

Cytoarchitectural map

Front 11

Crossing over of fibers, illustrated by the crossing of the pyramidal tract and dorsal-column lemniscal fibers in the caudal medulla.

Back 11

Decussation

Front 12

Toward the superior surface of the brain

Back 12

Dorsal

Front 13

Axonal fibers that mediate nerve impulses away from the central nervous system and cell body.

Back 13

Efferent

Front 14

Movement that straightens a limb.

Back 14

Extension

Front 15

Muscle movement that bends a limb

Back 15

Flexion

Front 16

Cluster of cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system

Back 16

Ganglion

Front 17

Secondary cells in the nervous system that serve as supportive connective tissue.

Back 17

Glial cell

Front 18

Relating to a structure common to both cerebral hemispheres or a structure located between them

Back 18

Interhemispheric

Front 19

Related to structures within one hemisphere

Back 19

Intrahemispheric

Front 20

Spreading and fast-growing tumor that causes death

Back 20

Malignant

Front 21

Specialized cell of the nervous system that conducts electrical impulses

Back 21

Nerve cell

Front 22

Brain and spinal axis

Back 22

Neuraxis

Front 23

Movement that turns the palm downward

Back 23

Pronation

Front 24

Toward the front of the head

Back 24

Rostral

Front 25

Vertical section dividing the brain into left and right halves

Back 25

Sagittal

Front 26

Relating to structures derived from a series of mesodermal somites, including skeletal muscles, bones, and dermis

Back 26

Somatic

Front 27

Movement that causes the palm to turn upward

Back 27

Supination

Front 28

Concerned with the development of malformed babies

Back 28

Teratology

Front 29

Location below the point of reference on the bottom of a brain structure

Back 29

Ventral

Front 30

Vital organs of the body that have nonstriated muscles, such as the larynx, pharynx, trachea, and lungs. Innervated by the autonomic nervous system and relates to respiration, phonation, and digestion.

Back 30

Visceral