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- Glossary
Optic tract
The optic tract refers to the optic nerve after half of the fibers have crossed sides at the optic chiasm. However, it still consists of the axons (long fiber-like extensions) of the retinal ganglion cells. Most of the optic tract ends in the lateral geniculate nucleus, while others end in the superior colliculi, among other places.
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- Glossary
Secretases
Secretases are proteases that cleave proteins into smaller fragments, often membrane-bound in the case of transmembrane proteins. Cleavage produces intracellular fragments that can act as signals and extracellular fragments that are released into the environment. Some proteins, such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP), offer different cleavage sites for different secretases. Beta-amyloid, the main component of senile plaques, is formed when APP is first cleaved by β-secretase outside the membrane and then by γ-secretase inside the membrane.
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- Glossary
Secondary auditory cortex
The secondary auditory cortex is an area in the temporal lobe (temporal lobe) that is downstream of the primary auditory cortex. It processes complex auditory information such as speech, sounds, and music, and plays a role in recognizing patterns in acoustic signals. Wernicke's area, which specializes in language comprehension, is located within this area but is not synonymous with the entire secondary auditory cortex.
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- Glossary
Second messenger
A second messenger is a chemical substance that transmits a signal within the cell after a receptor on the cell membrane has been activated. It is formed or released intracellularly and mediates the effect of the original signal on various target structures in the cell, often amplifying the signal.
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- Glossary
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Term for the phenomenon whereby certain expectations influence behavior in such a way that these expectations are fulfilled. For example, if a teacher considers individual students to be particularly high achievers, this attitude on the part of the authority figure can lead to the students in question developing a high level of self-confidence and, as a result, actually performing exceptionally well.
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- Glossary
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Term for the phenomenon whereby people change their behavior based on certain expectations regarding a future event in such a way that the event does not occur. For example, a warning of a bomb attack may prompt the hiring of additional security personnel, who ultimately prevent the attack.
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- Glossary
Semantic memory
Semantic memory is a form of declarative long-term memory. It stores knowledge about the world, i.e., facts, formulas, geography, recipes, etc.
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- Glossary
Sensitization
If a stimulus – a touch, a sound – proves to be important on multiple occasions, the nervous system will respond more intensely to this stimulus in the future. This sensitization is a learning process that also takes place at the cellular level. The opposite is habituation.
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- Glossary
Sensory transduction
In the process of transduction, a sensory stimulus – such as light or touch – is converted into a nerve impulse.
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- Glossary
Sensory neuron
A sensory neuron is a specialized nerve cell that perceives stimuli – for example, chemical (sweet), visual (bright), or acoustic (loud) – and transmits the information to the central nervous system.
