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synapse
synapse , junction between various signal-transmitter cells, either between two neurons or between a neuron and a muscle or gland. A nerve impulse reaches the synapse through the axon, or transmitting end, of a nerve cell, or neuron. Most axons have terminal knobs that respond to the impulse by rele...
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sympathetic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system That part of the autonomic nervous system which generally acts to stimulate the body to cope with stress, such as increasing the rate of heart beat. Nerves of the sympathetic nervous system tend to form ganglia (ganglion) beside the vertebrae, preganglionic fibres leading ...
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crossing over
crossing over process in genetics by which the two chromosomes of a homologous pair exchange equal segments with each other. Crossing over occurs in the first division of meiosis . At that stage each chromosome has replicated into two strands called sister chromatids. The two homologous chromoso...
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neurotransmitter
neurotransmitter chemical that transmits information across the junction ( synapse ) that separates one nerve cell (neuron) from another nerve cell or a muscle. Neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell's bulbous end (axon). When an electrical impulse traveling along the nerve reaches the axon...
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catecholamine
catecholamine , any of several compounds occurring naturally in the body that serve as hormones or as neurotransmitters in the sympathetic nervous system . The catecholamines include such compounds as epinephrine , or adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine. They resemble one another chemical...
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antidepressant
antidepressant any of a wide range of drugs used to treat psychic depression . They are given to elevate mood, counter suicidal thoughts, and increase the effectiveness of psychotherapy . Before the introduction of such drugs in the late 1950s, most patients with major depression had no recourse ...
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Sir Charles Scott Sherrington
Sir Charles Scott Sherrington 1857-1952, English neurophysiologist, educated at Cambridge. He was professor of physiology at the universities of Liverpool and London and at Oxford. He contributed major concepts in his field, among them that of proprioception, that of the function of the synapse (a ...
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acquired characteristics
acquired characteristics modifications produced in an individual plant or animal as a result of mutilation, disease, use and disuse, or any distinctly environmental influence. Some examples are docking of tails, malformation caused by disease, and muscle atrophy. The belief in the inheritability of...
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leveraged buyout
leveraged buyout the takeover of a company, financed by borrowed funds. Often, the target company's assets are used as security for the loans acquired to finance the purchase. The acquiring company or group then repays the loans from the target company's profits or by selling its assets. Many lever...
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maya
maya , in Hinduism, term used in the Veda to mean magic or supernatural power. In Mahayana Buddhism it acquires the meaning of illusion or unreality. The term is pivotal in the Vedanta system of Shankara, where it signifies the world as a cosmic illusion and also the power that creates the world...
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