Appendix:Glossary of neuroanatomy

This is a glossary of neuroanatomy.

B

 * brain : The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for action, attention, cognition, emotion, memory, and perception.


 * brain stem : The part of the brain that connects the spinal cord to the cerebrum and to the forebrain

C

 * cerebellum : Part of the hindbrain in vertebrates. In humans it lies between the brainstem and the cerebrum. It plays an important role in sensory perception, motor output, balance and posture.


 * cerebrum : The upper part of the brain, which is divided into the two cerebral hemispheres. In humans it is the largest part of the brain and is the seat of motor and sensory functions, and the higher mental functions such as consciousness, thought, reason, emotion, and memory.


 * cerebral cortex : The grey, folded, outermost layer of the cerebrum that is responsible for higher brain processes such as sensation, voluntary muscle movement, thought, reasoning, and memory.


 * cerebral hemisphere : One of the two regions of the brain that are delineated by the body's median plane.

D

 * diencephalon : The region of the human brain, specifically the human forebrain, that includes the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus, the prethalamus or subthalamus, and the pretectum.

E

 * encephalon : Part of brain, area of central nervous system that includes all higher nervous centers, enclosed within the skull and continuous with the spinal cord.


 * endbrain : Telencephalon.

F

 * forebrain : The anterior part of the brain, including the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus.


 * hindbrain : The posterior part of the brain, comprising the cerebellum, pons and medulla.

M

 * mesencephalon : A part of the brain located rostral to the pons and caudal to the thalamus and the basal ganglia, composed of the tectum (dorsal portion) and the tegmentum (ventral portion).


 * midbrain : A part of the brain located rostral to the pons and caudal to the thalamus and the basal ganglia, composed of the tectum (dorsal portion) and the tegmentum (ventral portion).

N

 * neocortex : The top layer of the cerebral hemispheres in the brain of mammals; part of cerebral cortex.

P

 * prosencephalon : Forebrain.

R

 * rhombencephalon : The hindbrain.

T

 * tectum : The dorsal portion of the midbrain, containing the superior colliculus and inferior colliculus.


 * tegmentum : The ventral portion of the midbrain, divided from the tectum by the cerebral aqueduct and the periaqueductal grey.


 * telencephalon : The anterior part of the forebrain; the endbrain


 * thalamus : Either of two large, ovoid structures of grey matter within the forebrain that relay sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex.