Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

Eye Birth Defect
Anophthalmia/microphthalmia, congenital cataracts, glaucoma

NCEH
National Center for Environmental Health

Jackson-Weiss syndrome
Many of the characteristic facial features of Jackson-Weiss syndrome result from the premature fusion of the skull bones. The head is unable to grow normally, which can lead to a misshapen skull, widely spaced eyes, and a bulging forehead. Foot abnormalities are the most consistent characteristic, as not all individuals with Jackson-Weiss syndrome have abnormal skull or facial features.

hypothalamus
The part of the brain that controls body functions such as eating, sleeping and sexual behavior, maintains body temperature and chemical balance, and regulates many hormones.

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.

enkephalins
(en-KEF-uh-lins). Naturally occurring molecules in the brain. Enkephalins attach to special receptors in the brain and spinal cord to inhibit pain messages. They also affect other functions within the brain and nervous system.

brain
The part of the central nervous system inside the skull. Its functions include muscle control and coordination, sensory reception and integration, speech production, memory storage and the elaboration of thought and emotion.

Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome
Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by the remature joining of certain bones of the skull (craniosynostosis) and a skin disorder called acanthosis nigricans.

Guillain-Barre (ge-YAH buh-RA) syndrome
An inflammatory disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves) and, more rarely, parts of the brain itself.

brain plasticity
Theories based on the idea that the brain may have the ability to use surviving brain cells in a different way to make up for those brain cells that are damaged.