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- Glossary
Ontogeny
Development of an individual from a fertilized egg cell to an adult organism.
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- Glossary
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning refers to the influence of a behavior on display through a result of that behavior, e.g., through immediate reward or immediate punishment. Depending on the outcome, the same behavior or a different behavior will be displayed the next time.
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- Glossary
Operculum
Cortical areas of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes at the lateral sulcus. The operculum covers the insular cortex.
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- Glossary
Opsin
Opsins are light-sensitive proteins in the retina that, together with the chromophore retinal, absorb light and convert it into electrical signals. The following opsins occur in humans: rhodopsin in rods, for twilight vision, S-opsin → short-wave cones (blue), M-opsin → medium-wave cones (green), L-opsin → long-wave cones (red). These three cone opsins enable color vision.
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- Glossary
Orbitofrontal cortex
A convolution in the orbitofrontal cortex of the cerebral cortex, located anatomically behind the eyes. The orbitofrontal cortex plays a crucial role in decision-making and monitoring social interactions and is correspondingly complex in structure. It consists of four different substructures: the medial, lateral, anterior, and posterior orbital gyri, as well as the rectus gyrus.
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- Glossary
Place cells
Pyramidal cells in the hippocampus that encode a specific location in a specific environment – for example, a section of a maze. When a test animal is in the center of this area, the cell fires most strongly. Place cells were discovered in 1971 by John O'Keefe and Jonathon Dostrovsky.
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- Glossary
Oscillation
Oscillations occur when many neurons fire in synchronized, rhythmic patterns. These phased fluctuations in neural activity form the basis for measurable signals in the EEG. They reflect the coordinated processing of information in the brain.
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- Glossary
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus and released into the blood via the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It initiates contractions during childbirth and supports the milk ejection reflex during breastfeeding. It is also released during orgasm. Oxytocin can promote trust and strengthen pair bonding, but recent findings show that its effects are more complex and, in certain contexts, can also promote separation from out-groups.
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- Glossary
Paleocortex
The paleocortex is a phylogenetically very old part of the telencephalon, which together with the olfactory bulb forms the olfactory brain. The paleocortex differs from the isocortex in that it does not have a six-layer structure.
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- Glossary
Pallidum
The "pale nucleus" (pallidum = pale) is classified as part of the basal ganglia due to its functional integration and, in terms of evolutionary development, belongs to the telencephalon. It has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) segment, which mainly transmit inhibitory impulses to modulate the activity of other parts of the basal ganglia and thalamus.
