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GLOSSARY
G
anatomy cerebellum instinct
The study of the structure of A part of the brain that helps control An automatic feeling or action.
living things. balance and movement.
intellectual
association cerebral cortex Anything to do with thinking.
The process by which new memories The entire wrinkly outer part of the
are linked to memories already brain that is responsible for sensory intuition
stored in the brain. processing, memory, voluntary Believing that you know something
movement, and thinking. without knowing why. This is
atom sometimes called a “sixth sense.”
The smallest particle of a substance. cerebral
Some substances such as oxygen hemisphere limbic system
contain only one type of atom, while One half of the cerebral cortex, A part of the brain that plays a role in
others like water contain more than or cerebrum. automatic body functions, emotions,
one type of atom. and the sense of smell.
cerebrum
attention Another name for the cerebral logic
The first stage in committing cortex, the cerebrum forms most Sound reasoning that draws correct
something to memory by focusing of the human brain. conclusions from basic facts.
on the moment or on the task at hand.
conditioning mimicry
auditory A form of learning in which good or Copying the appearance or behavior
Having to do with hearing and sound. bad experiences create an automatic of another person.
response to similar experiences.
axon molecule
The long fiber that extends from conscious The smallest particle of a substance
a nerve cell, or neuron. Nerve signals Being mentally aware. that can exist without breaking the
pass down the axon in one direction, substance into its component atoms.
away from the main body of the cell, consciousness A single water molecule, for example,
to stimulate other cells. A state of mental awareness. consists of two hydrogen atoms and
one oxygen atom.
bacteria dendrite
Microscopic organisms with a simple A short fiber extending from a nerve motor area
single-celled structure. Some types cell, or neuron, that picks up signals The region of the brain responsible
of bacteria can cause disease. from other nerve cells. for voluntary (controlled) movement
of the body.
botany evolution
The study of plants. The process by which things change nerve
slowly into different forms, usually A bundle of fibers extending from
brain stem applied to living things. nerve cells (neurons) that carries
The region at the base of the brain nerve signals, or impulses, between
where it joins the spinal cord. frontal lobe the brain and other parts of the body.
The front part of each cerebral
Broca’s area hemisphere, which plays an important nerve cell
The part of the brain that controls role in thinking. A specialized cell, also known as a
speech production. neuron, that carries nerve signals
geology from and to all parts of the body
cell The study of rocks. and forms networks in the brain.
The smallest unit of a living thing.
Many living things such as bacteria hair cell nerve impulse
consist of only one cell, but the human A cell equipped with a tiny flexible An electrical signal that passes along
body is made up of many cells, “hair” that is attached to nerves. the fibers extending from nerve cells
specialized for different jobs. (neurons) and carries coded information
hormone to the brain or other organs.
central nervous A substance released into the blood by
system a gland that effects change in another neuron
The brain and spinal cord. part of the body. A single nerve cell.
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