afferent
Carrying (nerve impulses, blood, etc.) from the outer regions of a body or organ towards its centre. The term is usually applied to types of nerve fibres or blood vessels. Compare efferent.
ataxia
Lack of coordination and unsteadiness of gait caused by loss of postural control, usually due to a lesion in the cerebellum. See ataxia telangiectasia.
autonomic nervous system
That part of the nervous system that controls and regulates involuntary body functions (e.g. digestion, heart rate, and temperature regulation). It is divided up into the sympathetic and ...
barbiturate
A class of drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system and have sedative and hypnotic effects. Largely superseded by benzodiazepines.
benzodiazepine
pl. n. a group of pharmacologically active compounds used as anxiolytics and hypnotics. The group includes chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, oxazepam, and temazepam.
brain
n. the enlarged and highly developed mass of nervous tissue that forms the upper end of the central nervous system (see illustration). The average adult human brain weighs about 1400 g (approximately ...
brainstem
n. the enlarged extension upwards within the skull of the spinal cord, consisting of the medulla oblongata, the pons, and the midbrain. The pons and medulla are together known as the bulb, or bulbar ...
catecholamine
(kat-ĕ-kol-ă-meenz)a group of physiologically important substances, including adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine, with different roles (mainly as neurotransmitters) in the functioning of the ...
cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF)the clear watery fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. It is contained in the subarachnoid space and circulates in the ventricles of the brain and in the central canal of ...
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
(peroneal muscular atrophy) a group of inherited diseases of the peripheral nerves, also known as hereditary sensorimotor neuropathy, causing a gradually progressive weakness and wasting of the ...
chloral hydrate
(klor-ăl hy-drayt)a sedative and hypnotic drug formerly widely used (as a syrup) to induce sleep, mainly in children and the elderly; its derivative chloral betaine (Welldorm) is formulated as ...
collagen
n. a protein that is the principal constituent of white fibrous connective tissue (as occurs in tendons). Collagen is also found in skin, bone, cartilage, and ligaments. It is relatively inelastic ...
coordination
(in animal physiology)The processes involved in the reception of sensory information, the integration of that information, and the subsequent response of the organism. Coordination is controlled by ...
defecation
n. a bowel movement in which faeces are evacuated through the rectum and anus. The amount and composition of the food eaten determine to a large degree the bulk of the faeces, and the transit time ...
depressant drug
Any drug that reduces or tends to reduce the function of a system or organ of the body, especially a drug that reduces or slows down the activity of the central nervous system and that in high ...
efferent
Carrying (nerve impulses, blood, etc.) away from the centre of a body or organ towards peripheral regions. The term is usually applied to types of nerve fibres or blood vessels. Compare afferent.
gait
(gayt)a manner of walking. ataxic g. an unsteady uncoordinated walk due to disease of the sensory nerves or cerebellum. See ataxia. cerebellar g. a staggering walk due to disease of the cerebellum. ...
ganglion
n. ( pl. ganglia) 1. (in neurology) any structure containing a collection of nerve cell bodies and often also numbers of synapses. In the sympathetic nervous system chains of ganglia are found on ...
glia
(neuroglia) n. the special connective tissue of the central nervous system, composed of different cells, including the oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells (see ependyma), and microglia, ...
glutamate
A salt of glutamic acid, the main excitatory neurotransmitter for all nerve impulses in the diencephalon and telencephalon and for sensory impulses in the peripheral nervous system. See also kainic ...
