Vocabulary terms fundamental to understanding concepts included in Trial 3: Traumatic Brain Injury
are listed below. Some of the words will be encountered while playing the games.
Vocabulary Terms [ 70 KB pdf ]
Anesthetic —a drug that is used to induce sleep and numb pain.
Animal Models —macaques, mice, zebrafish, and fruit flies are examples of animal models. Animal models are used to "model" what happens in humans since using a human body to study how humans work is not practical or ethical.
Animal Research Step —the second step in the biomedical research process. Involves testing new drugs in a whole, living system for safety effectiveness, and the potential for testing in humans.
Axon —a fiber-like extension that carries electrical messages away from the cell body and toward other neurons and cells.
Basic Research Step —the first step in the biomedical research process. Involves conducting research to increase knowledge of diseases and finding new targets for drugs.
Cell Body —contains the nucleus where many chemical reactions take place that keep the neuron alive.
Cell Culture —a sterile technique used to grow cells originating from animals or humans outside of the body under controlled conditions.
Clinical Trial —a research study human volunteers that is designed to the safety and efficacy of medical advances.
Cognition —a group of mental processes including, attention, memory, language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making.
Concussion —a mild brain injury that is non life-threatening, but can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions account for about 75% of all traumatic brain injuries that occur each year.
Controlled Cortical Impact (CCI) Apparatus – a Device that is used to induce a traumatic brain injury to a rat by delivering an impact to the outer part of the brain.
Dendrite —an extension of the neuronal cell that receives chemical messages from other neurons.
Dopamine —a neurotransmitter involved in cognition. Dopamine neurotransmission is thought to be disrupted after traumatic brain injury.
Dopamine Neurotransmission —the process of transmitting dopamine from one neuron to another. The process takes place in four steps: release, receive, transmit, and reuptake.
Dopamine Receptor —a surface protein on receiving neurons that binds dopamine, which leads to the generation of an electrical signal in the receiving neuron.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) —a government group that is responsible for protecting public health. The FDA is involved in the transition between some steps in the biomedical research process to assure drugs are safe and effective for people.
Frontal Cortex —located at the front of the brain just behind the face, the frontal cortex is involved in cognitive functions, such as problem solving.
Hippocampus —a horseshoe shaped structure spanning the left and right hemispheres of the brain, the hippocampus is involved in cognitive function, such as memory.
