Neuropsychology. Terminology
Kolb, B., Whishaw, I. and Teskey G.C., An Introduction to Brain and Behavior, 6th International Edition, I
Chapter 1. What are the Origins of Brain and Behavior
Specialized in that they interconnect with each other and with the muscles
and organs of the body with fibers that can extend over long distances
Neurons
Send electrical en chemical signals to communicate with one another
Glial cells Support the functions of neurons
Sends nerve fibers out to our muscles and internal body organs and receives
Spinal cord
fibers from sensory receptors on many parts of our body
Central Nervous
Brain + spinal cord > mediate behavior
System (CNS)
Peripheral
All neurons in body outside the brain and spinal cord; sensory + motor
Nervous System
connections to and from the CNS.
(PNS)
Cerebrum Major structure of the forebrain that consists of two mirror-image
(forebrain) hemispheres (left and right) and is responsible for most conscious behavior
Hemispheres Sides of the cerebrum (left/right)
Brainstem Central structure of the brain; responsible for most unconscious behavior
Major brainstem structure specialized for learning and coordinating
Cerebellum
movements; assists the cerebrum in generating many behaviors
Embodied Theory that the movements we make and the movements we perceive in
behavior others are central to communication with others
Condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or
Locked-in
communicate verbally because of complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary
syndrome
muscles except the eyes
Minimally
Condition in which a person can display some rudimentary behaviors, such as
conscious state
smiling or uttering a few words, but is otherwise not conscious
(MCS)
Clinical trial Consensual experiment directed toward developing a treatment
Deep brain
Neurosurgery in which electrodes implanted in the brain stimulate a targeted
stimulation
area with a low-voltage electrical current to facilitate behavior
(DBS)
Persistent
Condition in which a person is alive but unaware, unable to communicate or
vegetative state
to function independently at even the most basic level
(PVS)
Synonym for mind, and entity once proposed to be the source of human
Psyche
behavior
Mentalism Explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind
1
, Philosophical position that both a nonmaterial mind and a material body
Dualism
contribute to behavior
Mind-body
Difficulty of explaining how a nonmaterial mind and a material body interact
problem
Philosophical position that behavior can be explained as a function of the
Materialism
nervous system without recourse to the mind
Darwin’s theory explaining how new species evolve and how existing species
change over time. Differential success in the reproduction of different
Natural selection
characteristics (phenotypes) results from the interaction of organisms with
their environment
Species Group of organisms that can interbreed
Phenotype Set of induvial characteristics that can be seen of measured
Genotype Particular genetic makeup of an individual
Epigenetics Differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
Common
Forebear of two or more lineages or family groups; ancestral to both groups
ancestor
Branch of biology concerned with naming and classifying species by grouping
Taxonomy representative organisms according to their common characteristics and their
relationships to one another
Simple nervous system that has no center but consists of neurons that receive
Nerve net
sensory information and connect directly to other neurons that move muscles
Body plan in which organs or parts present on both sides of the body are
Bilateral
mirror images in appearance. For example, the hands are bilaterally
symmetry
symmetrical, whereas the heart is not
Division into a number of parts that are similar; refers to the idea that many
Segmentation animals, including vertebrates, are composed of similarly organized body
segments
Ganglia Collection of nerve cells that function somewhat like a brain
Chordate Animal that has both a brain and a spinal cord
Phylogenetic tree that branches repeatedly,
suggesting a taxonomy of organisms based on the
Cladogram
time sequence in which evolutionary branches
arise
2
, Chapter 2. What is the Nervous System’s Functional Anatomy
Evolved anatomical/functional features that solved long-standing historical
Adaptations
problems
The nervous system’s potential to physically or chemically modify itself in
Neuroplasticity response to environmental change and to compensate for age-related
changes and injury
Phenotypic
An individual’s capacity to develop into a range of phenotypes
plasticity
Part of the PNS that includes the cranial and spinal
nerves to and from the muscles, joints and skin, which
Somatic nervous 1. Cranial nerves
produce movement, transmit incoming sensory input,
system (SNS) 2. Spinal nerves
and inform the CNS about the position and movement
of body parts
Automatic
Part of the PNS that regulates the functioning of• Sympathetic division
nervous system
internal organs and glands • Parasympathetic division
(ANS)
Enteric nervous Mesh of neurons embedded in the lining of the gut, running from the
system (ENS) esophagus through the colon; controls the gut
Afferent Sensory INCOMING pathways, conducting toward a CNS structure
Efferent Motor OUTGOING pathways, conducting away from a CNS structure
Ipsilateral Structures lie on the same side
Contralateral Structures lie on opposite sides of each other
Bilateral Structures that occur in each hemisphere
Proximal Structures that are close to one another
Distal Structures that are far from one another
Anterior
= frontal Near or toward the frond of animal/head (= frontal = rostral)
= rostral
Caudal
Near or toward the tail of the animal (= posterior)
= posterior
Coronal Cut vertically from the crown of the head down, reveals frontal view
On or toward the back of a four-legged animal (equivalent to posterior for
Dorsal the human spinal cord); in reference to human brain nuclei, above, and to
brain sections viewed from above
Frontal
Of the front; in reference to brain sections, a viewing orientation from the
= anterior
front
= rostral
Cut along the horizon;
Horizontal
used to reference the plane of a brain section that reveals a dorsal view
Inferior Below
3
Kolb, B., Whishaw, I. and Teskey G.C., An Introduction to Brain and Behavior, 6th International Edition, I
Chapter 1. What are the Origins of Brain and Behavior
Specialized in that they interconnect with each other and with the muscles
and organs of the body with fibers that can extend over long distances
Neurons
Send electrical en chemical signals to communicate with one another
Glial cells Support the functions of neurons
Sends nerve fibers out to our muscles and internal body organs and receives
Spinal cord
fibers from sensory receptors on many parts of our body
Central Nervous
Brain + spinal cord > mediate behavior
System (CNS)
Peripheral
All neurons in body outside the brain and spinal cord; sensory + motor
Nervous System
connections to and from the CNS.
(PNS)
Cerebrum Major structure of the forebrain that consists of two mirror-image
(forebrain) hemispheres (left and right) and is responsible for most conscious behavior
Hemispheres Sides of the cerebrum (left/right)
Brainstem Central structure of the brain; responsible for most unconscious behavior
Major brainstem structure specialized for learning and coordinating
Cerebellum
movements; assists the cerebrum in generating many behaviors
Embodied Theory that the movements we make and the movements we perceive in
behavior others are central to communication with others
Condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or
Locked-in
communicate verbally because of complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary
syndrome
muscles except the eyes
Minimally
Condition in which a person can display some rudimentary behaviors, such as
conscious state
smiling or uttering a few words, but is otherwise not conscious
(MCS)
Clinical trial Consensual experiment directed toward developing a treatment
Deep brain
Neurosurgery in which electrodes implanted in the brain stimulate a targeted
stimulation
area with a low-voltage electrical current to facilitate behavior
(DBS)
Persistent
Condition in which a person is alive but unaware, unable to communicate or
vegetative state
to function independently at even the most basic level
(PVS)
Synonym for mind, and entity once proposed to be the source of human
Psyche
behavior
Mentalism Explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind
1
, Philosophical position that both a nonmaterial mind and a material body
Dualism
contribute to behavior
Mind-body
Difficulty of explaining how a nonmaterial mind and a material body interact
problem
Philosophical position that behavior can be explained as a function of the
Materialism
nervous system without recourse to the mind
Darwin’s theory explaining how new species evolve and how existing species
change over time. Differential success in the reproduction of different
Natural selection
characteristics (phenotypes) results from the interaction of organisms with
their environment
Species Group of organisms that can interbreed
Phenotype Set of induvial characteristics that can be seen of measured
Genotype Particular genetic makeup of an individual
Epigenetics Differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
Common
Forebear of two or more lineages or family groups; ancestral to both groups
ancestor
Branch of biology concerned with naming and classifying species by grouping
Taxonomy representative organisms according to their common characteristics and their
relationships to one another
Simple nervous system that has no center but consists of neurons that receive
Nerve net
sensory information and connect directly to other neurons that move muscles
Body plan in which organs or parts present on both sides of the body are
Bilateral
mirror images in appearance. For example, the hands are bilaterally
symmetry
symmetrical, whereas the heart is not
Division into a number of parts that are similar; refers to the idea that many
Segmentation animals, including vertebrates, are composed of similarly organized body
segments
Ganglia Collection of nerve cells that function somewhat like a brain
Chordate Animal that has both a brain and a spinal cord
Phylogenetic tree that branches repeatedly,
suggesting a taxonomy of organisms based on the
Cladogram
time sequence in which evolutionary branches
arise
2
, Chapter 2. What is the Nervous System’s Functional Anatomy
Evolved anatomical/functional features that solved long-standing historical
Adaptations
problems
The nervous system’s potential to physically or chemically modify itself in
Neuroplasticity response to environmental change and to compensate for age-related
changes and injury
Phenotypic
An individual’s capacity to develop into a range of phenotypes
plasticity
Part of the PNS that includes the cranial and spinal
nerves to and from the muscles, joints and skin, which
Somatic nervous 1. Cranial nerves
produce movement, transmit incoming sensory input,
system (SNS) 2. Spinal nerves
and inform the CNS about the position and movement
of body parts
Automatic
Part of the PNS that regulates the functioning of• Sympathetic division
nervous system
internal organs and glands • Parasympathetic division
(ANS)
Enteric nervous Mesh of neurons embedded in the lining of the gut, running from the
system (ENS) esophagus through the colon; controls the gut
Afferent Sensory INCOMING pathways, conducting toward a CNS structure
Efferent Motor OUTGOING pathways, conducting away from a CNS structure
Ipsilateral Structures lie on the same side
Contralateral Structures lie on opposite sides of each other
Bilateral Structures that occur in each hemisphere
Proximal Structures that are close to one another
Distal Structures that are far from one another
Anterior
= frontal Near or toward the frond of animal/head (= frontal = rostral)
= rostral
Caudal
Near or toward the tail of the animal (= posterior)
= posterior
Coronal Cut vertically from the crown of the head down, reveals frontal view
On or toward the back of a four-legged animal (equivalent to posterior for
Dorsal the human spinal cord); in reference to human brain nuclei, above, and to
brain sections viewed from above
Frontal
Of the front; in reference to brain sections, a viewing orientation from the
= anterior
front
= rostral
Cut along the horizon;
Horizontal
used to reference the plane of a brain section that reveals a dorsal view
Inferior Below
3
