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- Glossary
Dentate gyrus
The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampus and acts as its "input station." It receives various sensory inputs from the cortex (cerebral cortex) via the entorhinal cortex. Its densely packed granule cells, which are found in the so-called granular layer, project almost exclusively to the CA3 region of the hippocampus.
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- Glossary
Fusiform gyrus
The fusiform gyrus is located in the inferior, i.e., inner temporal lobe and plays an important role in object recognition. Facial recognition is believed to take place in the right fusiform gyrus, which is why this structure is also referred to as the fusiform face area.
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- Glossary
Parahippocampal gyrus
The parahippocampal gyrus runs along the hippocampus in the lower, inner temporal lobe. Its anterior part is covered by the entorhinal cortex. It is connected to numerous areas of the cerebral cortex and projects to the hippocampus, which it also acts as a gateway to. This means that it is involved in the consolidation of explicit memory content, among other things. In addition, the posterior part of the parahippocampal gyrus contains the parahippocampal place area (PPA), which responds particularly to complex visual scenes such as rooms, landscapes, or streets and thus plays an important role in spatial orientation and location recognition.
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- Glossary
Hair cells
Sensory cells in the inner ear located in the organ of Corti and the semicircular canals. The hair cells in the organ of Corti are responsible for transducing (converting) the vibrations into electrical potentials. Each of these sensory cells has hair-like protrusions of varying lengths, called stereocilia. These are interconnected. The movement of these stereocilia caused by the vibrations is the key to signal transduction in the hair cells.
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- Glossary
Habenulae
The habenulae – literally translated as "the reins" – are part of the epithalamus (which is part of the diencephalon) and are primarily involved in the modulation of monoamine neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin).
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- Glossary
Habituation
If stimuli are repeatedly presented without having any effect, habituation to these stimuli occurs. This weakens the response and, over time, it disappears completely.
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- Glossary
Hammer
The first of the small ossicles in the middle ear. It is connected to the eardrum and transmits the vibrations caused by sound waves via the other two ossicles (incus, stapes) to the cochlea, where the stimulus is converted into a neural signal.
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- Glossary
Haptics
Haptic perception is based on the sensory cells of the skin and depth sensitivity. It is an active process that allows the shape, structure, weight, temperature, etc. of an object to be explored. Haptics is the "science of touch."
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- Glossary
Hebbian theory
Hebbian theory is the hypothesis postulated in 1949 by Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb that the synaptic connection between two neurons is strengthened when both are active at the same time. This principle forms a cellular basis for learning and memory. "Neurons that fire together, wire together" – they form a common connection.
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- Glossary
Brightness
Brightness is one of the dimensions of visual perception: the perception of light intensity. It influences the size of the pupil.
