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- Glossary
Lock and key
In terms of the processes in a synapse, this means that the chemical messenger and its receptor must fit together like a key in a lock. The receptor therefore only "accepts" a very specific messenger.
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- Glossary
Pain memory
Acute pain can become chronic if it persists for a long time or if the nervous system becomes permanently sensitized. Due to its plasticity, the nervous system can then react to even slight stimuli with pain, even if these would normally be harmless.
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- Glossary
Criminal responsibility
In a neuroethical context, the issue of "culpability" arises from the question of whether humans possess free will: only when someone commits an act of their own free will can it be morally evaluated. Based on their research findings, some leading neuroscientists argue that humans do not possess free will. According to this view, even criminals are not responsible for their actions. If this way of thinking were to prevail, it would have significant legal implications in addition to moral ones.
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- Glossary
Visual pathway
The visual pathway refers to the network of nerve cells involved in visual perception. In mammals, it runs from the retinal ganglion cells in the eye – as the optic nerve to the optic chiasm, then as the visual tract – via the only switching point in the lateral geniculate nucleus to the primary visual cortex.
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- Glossary
Optic nerve
The axons (long fiber-like extensions) of the retinal ganglion cells form the optic nerve, which leaves the eye at the back of the optic disc. It comprises approximately one million axons and has a diameter of approximately seven millimeters.
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- Glossary
Visual radiation
The optic radiation – also known as Gratiolet's optic radiation after its discoverer – distributes visual impulses from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the comparatively very large primary visual cortex.
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- Glossary
Optic tract
The optic tract refers to the optic nerve after half of the fibers have crossed sides at the optic chiasm. However, it still consists of the axons (long fiber-like extensions) of the retinal ganglion cells. Most of the optic tract ends in the lateral geniculate nucleus, while others end in the superior colliculi, among other places.
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- Glossary
Secretases
Secretases are proteases that cleave proteins into smaller fragments, often membrane-bound in the case of transmembrane proteins. Cleavage produces intracellular fragments that can act as signals and extracellular fragments that are released into the environment. Some proteins, such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP), offer different cleavage sites for different secretases. Beta-amyloid, the main component of senile plaques, is formed when APP is first cleaved by β-secretase outside the membrane and then by γ-secretase inside the membrane.
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- Glossary
Secondary auditory cortex
The secondary auditory cortex is an area in the temporal lobe (temporal lobe) that is downstream of the primary auditory cortex. It processes complex auditory information such as speech, sounds, and music, and plays a role in recognizing patterns in acoustic signals. Wernicke's area, which specializes in language comprehension, is located within this area but is not synonymous with the entire secondary auditory cortex.
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- Glossary
Second messenger
A second messenger is a chemical substance that transmits a signal within the cell after a receptor on the cell membrane has been activated. It is formed or released intracellularly and mediates the effect of the original signal on various target structures in the cell, often amplifying the signal.
