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- Glossary
Pacinian corpuscle
Relatively large mechanoreceptors in the subcutaneous tissue that respond to vibration and thus also register acceleration on the skin.They are named after the German anatomist Abraham Vater (1684–1751) and the Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini (1812–1883).
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- Glossary
ventral
A positional term – ventral means "towards the abdomen." In relation to the nervous system, it refers to a direction perpendicular to the neural axis, i.e., downwards or forwards. In animals (that do not walk upright), the term is simpler, as it always means toward the abdomen. Due to the upright posture of humans, the brain bends in relation to the spinal cord, making ventral mean "forward."
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- Glossary
Ventricular system
A system of cavities in the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This provides protection, nutrition, homeostasis, and waste removal for the brain.
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- Glossary
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
Anatomically, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex belongs to the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. In some patients with decision-making problems, neuroscientists find lesions in this region of the brain. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex also becomes active when we try to suppress negative emotions such as feelings of guilt. It receives signals from many other areas of the brain and innervates the amygdala, hypothalamus, and several areas of the cortex.
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- Glossary
Vermis
The vermis is an unpaired structure of the cerebellum located on the midline. It primarily receives somatosensory inputs.
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- Glossary
Vestibular system
The vestibular system is part of the inner ear. Its sensors are located in the semicircular canals. As part of the balance system, it detects circular movements (rotations), acceleration, and gravity.
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- Glossary
Vestibulo-ocular reflex
When we turn our head, our eyes automatically move in the opposite direction. This reflex ensures that a stable image is formed on the retina even when the head moves quickly. This is made possible by the connection between the semicircular canals of the vestibular system and the nerve nuclei of the eye muscles in the brain stem.
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Tectum
A structure in the midbrain consisting of two pairs of mounds, the upper colliculi and the lower colliculi.
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- Glossary
Visual agnosia
Agnosia can be translated as "not recognizing." It refers to deficits in visual perception without blindness. The term was coined by Sigmund Freud. Examples of visual agnosia include prosopagnosia (face agnosia) and object agnosia.
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- Glossary
Visual association cortices
The visual association cortices are the areas that are not involved in primary visual processing but play a major role in the interpretation and integration of visual information. They process, for example, shape, color, movement, or spatial orientation and forward information along the what pathway (ventral) for object recognition and the where/how pathway (dorsal) for spatial processing and action control.\
