Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

trigeminal neuralgia
A painful condition caused by a disturbance in the function of the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.

Spina bifida
Is a condition that often has disabling consequences. With severe spina bifida, a person’s legs and feet are paralyzed, and there are problems with bowel and bladder control. Learning disabilities are common, and mental retardation sometimes occurs

hippocampus
Part of the brain that assists in storing memory by sorting and sending new bits of information to be stored in appropriate sections of your brain and recalling them when necessary.

amygdala
uh-MIG-duh-luh). A part of the brain that oversees emotions and triggers your response to danger.

endorphins
Naturally occurring molecules made up of amino acids. Endorphins attach to special receptors in the brain and spinal cord to inhibit pain signals.

Alzheimer's disease
Severe form of dementia caused by significant deterioration of brain tissue.

Ear Birth Defect
Anotia/microtia

Central nervous system Birth Defect
Neural tube defects, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly, Dandy-Walker malformation

vascular dementia
A common form of dementia that results either from narrowing and blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain or by strokes that cause an interruption of blood flow within the brain.

cerebral palsy
A disorder caused by injury to the cerebral area of the brain that occurs before or during birth or in the first few months after birth. Damage to the cerebrum may cause paralysis (palsy) in one or more parts of the body.