Search

1. Glossary

Caudate nucleus

Part of the basal ganglia, it forms the striatum together with the putamen. Anatomically, the caudate nucleus is located frontally in the center of the brain and extends backward, forming a C shape. It consists of a head (caput nuclei caudati), a body (corpus nuclei caudati), and a tail (cauda nuclei caudati). In contrast to the more motor-related parts of the basal ganglia, this area is strongly connected to the prefrontal cortex in addition to its motor functions. As a result, this part of the striatum is also heavily involved in cognition, motivation, and emotion.

1. Glossary

Supraoptic nucleus

A core area of the hypothalamus, located above the optic nerves. This is where the peptide hormones vasopressin and oxytocin are produced.

1. Glossary

Occipital lobe

One of the four large lobes of the cerebral cortex. The occipital lobe lies above the cerebellum. It borders the parietal and temporal lobes at the front. The calcarine sulcus divides the occipital lobe into an upper and lower half, the cuneus and the lingual gyrus. Functionally, this area of the brain is responsible for the central processing of visual information – both the primary and secondary visual cortex are located in the occipital lobe.

1. 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.

1. Glossary

Pons

Area in the brain stem between the medulla oblongata and the mesencephalon. It acts as a switching station for many nerve pathways between the brain and spinal cord and contains numerous nuclei, including cranial nerves and those involved in controlling motor function in cooperation with the cerebellum.

1. Glossary

Primary motor cortex

An area of the frontal lobe in the anterior wall of the central sulcus. It is considered to be the higher-level control unit responsible for voluntary and fine motor skills. This is where the cell bodies of the central motor neurons are located, whose axons primarily extend to the spinal cord (via the corticospinal tract). Only in the primary motor cortex do Betz giant cells occur, which are particularly large motor neurons whose axons extend directly to the motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord without prior synaptic switching.

1. Glossary

Primary somatosensory cortex

Area of the cerebrum where haptic stimuli are processed centrally. Anatomically, the somatosensory cortex is located on the first cerebral gyri behind the central sulcus. This is where afferents from sensory cells throughout the body converge. Neurons that evaluate information from neighboring areas of the body are also located next to each other in the somatosensory cortex. Neuroscientists refer to this as somatotopy.S1 is an important station in pain processing – this is where we become aware of the pain stimulus.

1. 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.

1. Glossary

Receptive field

The receptive field is the area of the environment in which a stimulus changes (increases or decreases) the activity of a specific nerve cell.

1. Glossary

Septum

The septal nuclei are located medially in the basal forebrain, near the anterior tip of the cingulate gyrus. They are connected to the olfactory cortex and linked to other limbic structures via the fornix. Functionally, they play a role in emotional processes and reward processing.