- Action Potential
- The transient electrical impulse that travels through a neuron.
- Axon
- The cell's output branch, and its main conducting unit. The neuron propagates an electrical signal that travels down the tubular axon to next nerve cell. This transient electrical impulse is called an action potential.
- Brain stem
- The oldest part of the human brain, sharing many features in common with the reptilian brain. Basic functions such as heart rate and breathing are controlled here, and it's also the main channel for sensory and motor signals. The stem is a stalklike structure which starts in the spinal cord and ascends up into the midbrain, and includes the medulla, pons, and thalamus.
- Cell body
- The center of the neuron, incorporating the various cellular "factories" and the nucleus (including the cell's genetic programs.) The cell body is the neuron's administrative center.
- Cerebellum
- Region responsible for coordinating senses and muscle movement, and probably much more; is more involved with learning and memory than previously thought. (See Loco Motion)
- Cortex
- A folded hemispherical sheet covering the cerebrum. Most high-level brain function takes place here.
Click for The Interactive Brain - Dendrite
- Dendrites receive impulses from the axons of neighboring cells. They branch out tree-like from the cell body and enormously increase the surface area of the neuron.
- Frontal lobe
- Part of the cortex associated with reasoning. The frontal lobes occupy the front part of the brain behind the forehead and compose the region most closely associated with "executive" control of responses to input from the rest of the system. They are most closely linked with making decisions and judgements.
- Motor cortex
- The region of the cortex concerned with voluntary muscle movement.
- Neuron
- The nerve cell that powers the nervous system. Brain cells are neurons. The neuron is the basic communication building block of the brain's communication system.
- Neurotransmitter
- A chemical used by neurons to communicate with other cells.
- Olfactory bulb
- The critical stage for processing odor. It receives information from odor-sensing neurons and relays it to the olfactory cortex, called the Piriform cortex, the simplest, oldest, type of cerebral cortex.
- Olfactory (piriform) cortex
- Very old region of the cortex involved in processing olfactory (smell) information. Also known as the piriform cortex.
- Olfactory tract
- From the olfactory bulb this cable of neurons projects to several areas of the cerebral hemisphere, including the piriform cortex.
- Pons
- Part of the brain stem system involved with regulating levels of arousal; is a key player in the cerebellum's activities.
- Somatosensory cortex
- The areas of the cortex that process information arriving from the body surfaces or from within the body. It involves the perception of tactile feeling, limb position, pain, and temperature.
- Spike
- The measure of a cell's electrical firing, in the form of a pointed wave.
- Synapse
- Synapses are sites arrayed along the surface of axons and dendrites. Synapses send and receive chemical signals from other neurons. Signals are sent from neuron to neuron --from the axon of one to the dentrites of the next-- via these synaptic terminals.
- Temporal lobe
- Contains the auditory cortex and mediates the process of hearing. The temporal lobe is also important in memory processing and in the integration of emotions, a sense of identity and personality, as well as many sensory modalities.
