Babinski Reflex - Bulbar - Glossary of Psychophysiology Terms

Lecture

Babinski reflex - slow extension of the great toe with less pronounced plantar flexion or fan-like spreading of the other toes upon stroke stimulation of the skin of the outer edge of the sole; it appears in early age up to 2 years as a normal physiological reflex, and if it persists at an older age it indicates a disorder of CNS function, in particular damage to the pyramidal tract.
Basal ganglia - a complex of subcortical neuronal nuclei located in the central white matter of the cerebral hemispheres. These include the caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen, claustrum, etc.; they provide regulation of motor and autonomic functions and take part in the integrative processes of higher nervous activity.
Basal - pertaining to the functions of the nearest subcortex (basal ganglia) of the brain, which are related to the regulation of motor and autonomic functions.
Baragnosis - a form of agnosia in which the perception of the weight of objects is impaired; observed in lesions of the cerebellum.
Unconditioned reflex - an innate, instinctive response of the organism to a stimulus; a hereditarily fixed stereotyped form of response to significant changes in the external and internal environment.
Proteins (protein) - polymers consisting of amino acids joined in a specific sequence by a peptide bond; the main constituent of all living organisms on Earth.
White matter - the part of nervous tissue in the brain consisting of myelinated nerve fibers.
The unconscious - the totality of mental phenomena, processes and states not recognized by the subject.
Beta rhythm - one of the rhythms making up the EEG spectrum, having a frequency in the range from 14 to 35 Hz, an oscillation amplitude from 2 to 20 µV; predominantly expressed in the anterior regions of the cerebral cortex, it is an electroencephalographic indicator of the highest levels of wakefulness.
Betz cells - pyramidal cells of the cerebral cortex.
Bilateral symmetry - exact correspondence between the right and left halves of the body, each of which is a mirror image of the other; asymmetry is a violation of this correspondence, and may be morphological (differences in structure) or functional (differences in function).
Bilateral - two-sided.
Binary - binary.
Binaural - pertaining to both ears.
Binaural hearing - perception of sounds by means of both ears and the symmetrical (right and left) parts of the auditory system.
Binaural effect - the ability of humans and higher animals to determine the direction from which a sound comes, due to the fact that sound reaches the left and right ears at different times and with unequal intensity.
Binocular vision - vision in the process of which the formation of the visible image uses visual information coming from both eyes.
Biogenic - originating from a living organism, related to it.
Biogenic amines - a group of mediators including serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Biological rhythms - cyclic (daily, seasonal, etc.) fluctuations in the intensity and character of various biological processes and phenomena, giving organisms the ability to adapt to cyclic changes in the environment. Biological rhythms are characterized by: period (frequency), amplitude, phase, mean level, profile.
Biological clock - a process in the organism that serves to "tie" certain vital events to the required time.
Biorhythmology - the field of science that studies biological rhythms.
Biopotential - having dual possibilities of development.
Bioelectric potentials - electrical processes arising in living systems as a result of physicochemical processes separating positive and negative electrical charges; when recorded, biopotentials characterize the dynamics of the potential difference between two points of living tissue, reflecting the level of its bioelectric activity.
Bipolar cell - a neuron possessing two large processes extending from the cell body; in the vertebrate retina, bipolar cells are located between the layers of receptor and ganglion cells.
Bipolar - having two poles.
Biorhythms - see Biological rhythms.
Biosynthesis - the synthesis of organic substances from simpler compounds occurring in living organisms under the action of enzymes.
Biotic environmental factors - the totality of influences exerted on an organism by the life activity of other organisms.
Bifurcation - splitting, division, branching of something.
Blastula - a multicellular, single-layered embryo.
Globus pallidus - part of the striatum. The globus pallidus is distinguished as a separate morphological unit called the pallidum.
Alpha rhythm blockade - disappearance of the alpha rhythm, its replacement in the EEG by higher-frequency rhythms.
Cerebral hemispheres - paired structures of the brain, especially well developed in humans and higher apes; connected to each other by the corpus callosum.
Alzheimer's disease - a disease causing dementia, in which there is progressive destruction of brain cells, especially cortical ones.
Pain - an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage; a psychophysiological state of humans and animals caused by excitation of the nociceptive system.
Sulci - depressions separating the gyri and larger areas of the cerebral cortex. The Rolandic sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe, and the Sylvian sulcus separates the temporal lobe from the parietal lobe.
Bradylalia - slowing of the rate of speech due to articulation difficulties. Observed in lesions of the globus pallidus and substantia nigra of the brain, as well as in cerebellar pathology.
Bradykinesia - general slowness of movement.
Bradylexia - slowing of the rate of reading.
Bradypraxia - slowing of the rate of purposeful actions.
Brodmann's areas - individual regions of the cerebral cortex differing in their cellular structure (cytoarchitecture) and functions. For example, areas 17, 18, 19 are visual areas of the cerebral cortex, which have different structure and functions in providing visual perception.
Bulbar - pertaining to the medulla oblongata.