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1. Glossary

Sodium-potassium pump

The sodium-potassium pump is a protein in the cell membrane. When energy is consumed, it transports three sodium ions from inside the cell to the external environment and, in return, two potassium ions from the external environment to inside the cell.

1. Glossary

Neglect

Neglect is a perceptual disorder in which parts of the body or stimuli are ignored due to a brain lesion. The disorder affects the sides opposite the brain lesion. It usually occurs after lesions in the right parietal lobe. Accordingly, visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli on the left side are ignored.

1. Glossary

Neocortex

The neocortex is the phylogenetically youngest part of the cerebral cortex. Since it is structured relatively uniformly in six layers, it is also referred to as the isocortex.

1. Glossary

Retina

The retina is the inner layer of the eye covered with pigment epithelium. The retina is characterized by an inverse (reversed) arrangement: light must first pass through several layers before it hits the photoreceptors (cones and rods). The signals from the photoreceptors are transmitted via the optic nerve to the processing areas of the brain. The reason for the inverse arrangement is the evolutionary development of the retina, which is a protrusion of the brain.The retina is approximately 0.2 to 0.5 mm thick.

1. Glossary

Neurodegeneration

Collective term for diseases in which nerve cells gradually lose their structure or function until they eventually die. In many cases, misfolded proteins are the trigger – such as certain forms of the proteins beta-amyloid and tau in the case of Alzheimer's disease. In other diseases, such as Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease, proteins within the neurons are not broken down properly. As a result, toxic aggregates are deposited there, leading to the respective disease symptoms. While Huntington's disease is clearly genetic, in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's there appear to be certain gene variants that promote their development. None of these neurodegenerative diseases can be cured at present.

1. Glossary

Neuroenhancement

Neuroenhancement is about improving cognitive performance. To this end, drugs used to treat dementia, hyperactivity, or narcolepsy are taken by healthy individuals with the aim of improving their learning abilities, increasing their alertness, or staying awake and active for longer. In addition to the ethical questions this raises, there is also medical controversy as to whether this self-medication actually works and what the long-term consequences might be.

1. Glossary

Neurofibrils

Neurofibrils are fine fibrous structures in nerve cells that consist mainly of neurofilaments (a form of intermediate filaments) and other components of the cytoskeleton. They run in bundles through the cell body and the extensions of neurons and contribute significantly to the stabilization and shaping of the nerve cell. They appear as characteristic features of neurons even in the early embryo. Alzheimer's disease causes profound changes in cytoskeletal structures: the protein tau, which normally stabilizes microtubules, becomes excessively phosphorylated, detaches from the microtubules, and aggregates to form the typical neurofibrillary tangles (fibrillary bundles). These are a central pathological feature of the disease.

1. Glossary

Neurohypophysis

The neurohypophysis is the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It stores the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, which are produced in the hypothalamus, and releases them into the bloodstream when needed.

1. Glossary

Neuromarketing

A relatively new, interdisciplinary field of research in market research that builds on the findings of neuroeconomics – and is not entirely without controversy. The concept of neuromarketing is based on the assumption that customers make purchasing decisions primarily on the basis of unconscious emotional reactions. Neuromarketing uses neurophysiological measurement methods to study these reactions in order to better understand how consumers respond to products, advertising, and sales environments – with the aim of influencing these responses and thus purchasing decisions at the point of sale (the store) through measures such as music or scents.

1. Glossary

Neuron

A neuron is a specialized cell in the nervous system that is responsible for processing and transmitting information. It receives signals via its dendrites and transmits them via its axon. Transmission occurs electrically within the neuron and, between neurons, usually chemically via synapses.