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- Glossary
Field of view
The area of the outside world that can be perceived when the head is held still and the gaze is straight ahead. In humans, it is approximately 180° horizontally, of which about 120°–140° is binocular; vertically, it is approximately 135°. Rabbits achieve 360° thanks to their sideways-facing eyes, although their binocular field of vision – i.e., the intersection of both eyes – only covers 30°.
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- Glossary
Fusiform gyrus
The fusiform gyrus is located in the inferior, i.e., inner temporal lobe and plays an important role in object recognition. Facial recognition is believed to take place in the right fusiform gyrus, which is why this structure is also referred to as the fusiform face area.
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- Glossary
Parahippocampal gyrus
The parahippocampal gyrus runs along the hippocampus in the lower, inner temporal lobe. Its anterior part is covered by the entorhinal cortex. It is connected to numerous areas of the cerebral cortex and projects to the hippocampus, which it also acts as a gateway to. This means that it is involved in the consolidation of explicit memory content, among other things. In addition, the posterior part of the parahippocampal gyrus contains the parahippocampal place area (PPA), which responds particularly to complex visual scenes such as rooms, landscapes, or streets and thus plays an important role in spatial orientation and location recognition.
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- Glossary
Heschl's gyrus
Heschl's gyrus is an area in the temporal lobe that was first described by Richard Heschl in 1855. It is the seat of the primary auditory cortex, i.e., the hearing center in the cerebral cortex.
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- Glossary
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is the largest part of the archicortex and an area in the temporal lobe. It is also an important part of the limbic system. Functionally, it is involved in memory processes, but also in spatial orientation and learning. It comprises the subiculum, the dentate gyrus, and the Ammon's horn with its four fields CA1-CA4. Changes in the structure of the hippocampus due to stress are associated with chronic pain. The hippocampus also plays an important role in the amplification of pain through anxiety.
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- Glossary
Lateral inhibition
Lateral inhibition is a principle of neural stimulus processing, according to which the retina, among other things, is structured. There, the nerve cells of an area are interconnected in such a way that when they are excited, they inhibit the activity of the surrounding neurons.
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- Glossary
Medulla oblongata
Area of the brain that transitions into the spinal cord. The medulla oblongata comprises nerve pathways between the spinal cord and higher brain regions, as well as numerous core areas with functions that are in some cases vital, such as breathing, heartbeat, and certain reflexes.
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- Glossary
Mesolimbic pathway
A system of neurons that use dopamine as a neurotransmitter and play a crucial role in emotion, reward, and substance abuse. The cell bodies are located in the subtegmental area and extend to the amygdala, the hippocampus, and – most importantly – the nucleus accumbens, where they have their terminal buttons.
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- Glossary
Nose
The olfactory organ of vertebrates. In the nasal cavity, the air is cleaned by cilia, and in the upper area is the olfactory epithelium, which detects odors.
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- Glossary
Nucleus accumbens
The nucleus accumbens is a nucleus in the basal ganglia that receives dopaminergic (dopamine-responsive) inputs from the ventral tegmental area. It is associated with reward and attention, but also with addiction. In pain processing, it is involved in motivational aspects of pain (reward, pain reduction) and in the effect of placebos.
