Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

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.

Crouzon syndrome
Many of the signs of Crouzon syndrome result from the early fusion of the skull bones during childhood. Abnormal growth of these bones leads to wide-set, bulging eyes due to shallow eye sockets; eyes that do not point in the same direction (strabismus); a beaked nose; and an underdeveloped upper jaw.

Musculoskeletal Birth Defect
Diaphragmatic hernia, gastroschisis, omphalocele, limb deficiency, craniosynostosis, bladder exstrophy, cloacal exstrophy, sacral agenesis/caudal regression.

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.

Muenke syndrome
The primary feature of this disease is prematurely fused skull bones along the coronal suture, the growth line which goes over the head from ear to ear. This can result in an abnormally shaped head, wide-set eyes, and flattened cheekbones.

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

Parkinson's disease
A progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that helps control muscle movement.

Cardiovascular Birth Defect
Conotruncal heart defects, septal heart defects, obstructive heart defects, atrioventricular septal defects, single ventricle, anomalous pulmonary venous return, heterotaxy, Ebstein malformation.

Alexander disease
Alexander disease is considered one of the leukodystrophies, a group of disorders where the primary abnormality is the inability to maintain the fatty covering (myelin) that insulates nerve fibers in the brain. Alexander disease is a rare disorder of the nervous system that usually begins during infancy or early childhood.

Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome
Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by skin abnormalities and the premature fusion of certain bones of the skull craniosynostosis), which prevents further growth of the skull and affects the shape of the head and face.