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- Glossary
Procedural memory
Procedural memory is a form of non-declarative long-term memory. It includes sequences of actions such as riding a bike, playing the piano, or drawing a specific figure.
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- Glossary
Psychosomatics
Psychosomatics examines the effects of emotional and cognitive processes on the body, particularly on the subjective perception of illness. This includes mental health problems with physical consequences, such as eating disorders and hypochondria. After psychologists initially used theoretical models to explain psychosomatic phenomena, the field has also been the subject of scientific research since the mid-20th century. Since 2003, there have been officially recognized specialists in psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy.
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- Glossary
Pulvinar
The pulvinar is a fairly large nucleus in the posterior thalamus that is connected to many visual centers. It appears to increase the excitability of cells in the visual cortex as soon as a stimulus is noticed. Some studies suggest that the pulvinar may also indirectly support language processing via cortical connections.
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- Glossary
Pupil
The opening in the eye through which light enters. The size of the pupil is determined by the iris and changes reflexively (pupillary reflex). This process of adjusting to the brightness of the environment is called adaptation.
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- Glossary
Purkinje cell
Purkinje cells are the main output cells of the cerebellar cortex and central switching points of the cerebellum. They have a dense, tree-like dendritic apparatus through which they receive information from thousands of parallel fibers and climbing fibers. Their axons are the only ones that extend out of the cerebellar cortex and project onto the nuclei of the cerebellum, from where signals are transmitted to motor centers. Purkinje cells are among the largest cell types in the cerebellum.
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- Glossary
Putamen
A nucleus of the basal ganglia that, together with the caudate nucleus, forms the striatum. As part of the extrapyramidal motor system, it is involved in voluntary motor function (intentional movement).
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- Glossary
Pyramidal pathway
The pyramidal pathway is a system of axons (long fiber-like extensions of nerve cells) that run from the motor cortex to the spinal cord. 80 percent of all fibers cross to the opposite side in the medulla oblongata. In the medulla, it runs past the pyramids, from which it gets its name. It is involved in fine and voluntary motor skills.
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- Glossary
Pyramidal neurons
Pyramidal neurons are the most common neurons in the cerebral cortex. They are particularly large, and their "three-pointed" cell body resembles a cone or pyramid when viewed in cross-section.
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- Glossary
Spinal paralysis
This is the term used by doctors to describe a combination of symptoms that occur when the nerve cord in the spinal cord is severed. The location of the injury on the spine is decisive for its consequences: the body can no longer control limbs and organs whose innervation branches off from the spinal cord below the damaged area. Possible consequences range from partial paralysis of the limbs to complete loss of control over the rectum and bladder. Also called paraplegia or paraparesis.
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- Glossary
Reissner membrane
This membrane separates the scala media from the scala vestibuli in the cochlea.
