Search
-
- Glossary
Asomatognosia
Asomatognosia literally means "not knowing" one's own body. The term refers to the loss of perception or feeling of belonging to one's own body parts. Asomatognosia is usually caused by damage to the right parietal lobe, which means that the left side of the body is usually affected.
-
- Glossary
Association cortex
Parts of the cerebrum that are not assigned to the primary and secondary areas for sensory processing and motor function. They are mainly located in the neocortex, integrate information from multiple sources, are the center of thalamocortical and cortico-cortical networks, and cannot be clearly distinguished functionally.
-
- Glossary
Astrocyte
Astrocytes are among the largest glial cells. Their tasks include maintaining the blood-brain barrier and reabsorbing released neurotransmitters (messenger substances in the brain).
-
- Glossary
Ataxia
A medical umbrella term for the disturbance or loss of coordination of movement. In the case of target ataxia, for example, a targeted grasp of an object may be slow, shaky, or too fast. Ataxia can be congenital or the result of lesions or degeneration.
-
- Glossary
Auditory cortex
The auditory cortex is a part of the temporal lobe that is involved in processing acoustic signals. It is divided into the primary and secondary auditory cortex.
-
- Glossary
Attention
Attention serves as a tool for consciously perceiving internal and external stimuli. We achieve this by focusing our mental resources on a limited number of stimuli or pieces of information. While some stimuli automatically attract our attention, we can select others in a controlled manner. The brain also unconsciously processes stimuli that are not currently the focus of our attention.
-
- Glossary
Eye
The eye is the sensory organ responsible for perceiving light stimuli – electromagnetic radiation within a specific frequency range. The light visible to humans lies in the range between 380 and 780 nanometers.
-
- Glossary
Eyeball layers
The layers of the eye form the wall of the eyeball. They can be roughly divided into three areas: the outer membrane with the cornea and sclera, the middle membrane with the iris, choroid, and ciliary body, and the inner membrane with the photoreceptive and blind parts of the retina.
-
- Glossary
Outer hair cell
Outer and inner hair cells are sensory cells for acoustic signals in the organ of Corti. At their tips, they have hair-like projections called stereocilia, which are connected to each other and, in the case of the outer hair cells, also to the tectorial membrane. The three rows of outer hair cells filter acoustic signals and act as a cochlear amplifier: without them, our hearing sensitivity would be reduced by about 50 dB.
-
- Glossary
Autism
A serious developmental disorder that often manifests itself in reduced social skills, impaired communication, and stereotypical behavior. Today, it is understood to be part of the autism spectrum disorders.
