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- Glossary
Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease is a progressive and fatal hereditary disease that manifests itself in the brain. It is characterized by dyskinesia, dementia, and behavioral and psychological changes. To date, there is no cure, although scientists have a relatively good understanding of its molecular causes. The Huntington's gene of those affected contains up to 200 copies of a specific base triplet (group of three bases). This causes the cells to produce a defective protein, which primarily forms deposits in the striatum of the brain. This leads to degeneration of the neurons in the basal ganglia and the cortex.
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- Glossary
Cingulate cortex
A component of the prefrontal cortex located at the front of the brain. Like half a doughnut, the cingulate cortex wraps around the corpus callosum. Functionally, it belongs to the limbic system and is involved in emotion, memory, and motor function.
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- Glossary
Cochlea
The cochlea is the part of the inner ear that contains the organ of Corti, which is responsible for converting acoustic signals into nerve impulses.
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Cochlear nuclei
These nuclei on the dorsolateral side of the brainstem are innervated by the auditory nerve and form a switching center for information from the auditory system. The efferent neurons of the cochlear nuclei transmit auditory information to downstream switching centers in the brainstem, such as the inferior colliculi.
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- Glossary
Inferior colliculus
Two posterior elevations of the midbrain roof are referred to as the inferior colliculi. Together with the superior colliculi, they form the midbrain tectum. Impulses from various nuclei of the lower brain stem converge at the inferior colliculi. In addition, signals from the auditory cortex arrive here. This makes the inferior colliculi an important coordination center for auditory information.
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- Glossary
Superior colliculus
The upper pair of hills of the four hills of the midbrain (tectum) are also referred to in the plural as colliculi superiores. They form a switching center in the optical system for reflex movements of the eyes and for pupil reflexes.
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Ammon's horn
Part of the cerebrum, specifically the front end of the hippocampus. The Cornu Ammonis is divided into fields CA1 to CA4. It owes its name to its shape, which resembles the horn of an ammon sheep.
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- Glossary
Mamillary bodies
Two structures of the posterior thalamus (largest part of the diencephalon). Due to their similarity to the female breast, they are also called mammillary bodies. They are located at the front end of the fornix and are attributed to the limbic system.
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Corpus callosum
As the largest commissure (connection in the brain), the corpus callosum connects the two cerebral hemispheres. It consists of 200-250 million nerve fibers and serves to exchange information.
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- Glossary
Lateral geniculate body
The lateral geniculate nucleus is the section of the thalamus (the largest part of the diencephalon) where around 90% of the optic nerve axons terminate. It has a characteristic stratification into six cell layers. The nerve cells of the lateral geniculate nucleus send their projections to the visual cortex. Together with the medial geniculate nucleus, it forms the metathalamus.
