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- Diseases
- Multiple sclerosis
The Disease with a thousand Faces
Key facts about MS. And first things first: the course of the disease can be significantly influenced.
07.10.2025
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- Act
- Motor Skills
Forced Right-Handedness
When left-handed people were retrained to use their right hand, their brains were also retrained.
25.10.2025
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- Basics
- Anatomy
The Ventricular System
What's hiding in our brains? An alien wearing a helmet! Or a human with ram's horns?
20.09.2025
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- Discover
- Milestones
John Eccles: Across the Gap
John Eccles disproved his own theories. In doing so, he helped to elucidate synaptic transmission.
06.06.2013
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- Basics
- Structure and Function
Senses in Motion
Motor skills play a bigger role in vision than previously thought
21.12.2021
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- Glossary
Betz giant cells
Betz giant cells are particularly large pyramidal cells in the primary motor cortex (area 4). They have very large cell bodies with a diameter of 100 µm and heavily myelinated axons that project directly into the spinal cord. This makes them part of the corticospinal neurons of the pyramidal tract. Although they make up only a small portion of the fibers of the pyramidal tract, they are functionally important for the control of voluntary movements, especially fine motor skills.
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- Glossary
cranial
A positional term – cranial means "towards the head." In relation to the nervous system, it refers to a direction along the neural axis, i.e., forward. In animals (without upright gait), the designation is simpler, as it always means forward. Due to the upright gait of humans, the brain bends in relation to the spinal cord, where cranial also means "upward."
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- Glossary
rostral
A positional term – rostral means "towards the beak." In relation to the nervous system, it refers to a direction along the neural axis towards the front, towards the face. In animals (without upright gait), the designation is simpler, as it always means located toward the front. Due to the upright gait of humans, the brain bends in relation to the spinal cord, making rostral at the level of the back become "up."
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- Glossary
caudal
A positional term – caudal means "towards the tail." In relation to the nervous system, it refers to a direction along the neural axis, i.e., towards the rear. In animals (that do not walk upright), the term always means: located at the end of the spine. Due to the upright gait of humans, the brain bends in relation to the spinal cord, which means that caudal also means downward.
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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.
