Vijay Shankar Sharma
Textbook neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and clinical terms. Not a reinterpretation of Vijay's Law or the Consciousness Index. 148 terms. Textbook meanings only.
6 terms. Page 1 of 1.
neuroscience · intermediate
Also called: gamma-aminobutyric acid
Gamma-aminobutyric acid, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, which reduces the likelihood that a neuron will fire. It plays a key role in regulating anxiety, muscle tone, and the balance between neural excitation and inhibition. Many anti-anxiety medications and sedatives, including benzodiazepines, work by enhancing GABA's inhibitory effect.
clinical-and-disorders · intro
A medically induced state of controlled unconsciousness, produced by drugs that suppress the central nervous system, used to prevent pain and awareness during surgical procedures. Despite widespread clinical use for well over a century, the precise mechanism by which anesthetic drugs reliably suppress consciousness while leaving basic life functions intact remains an active area of neuroscience research.
perception · intermediate
A school of psychology, originating in early twentieth-century Germany, holding that the mind perceives whole patterns and configurations rather than simply assembling perception from individual sensory parts, often summarised by the phrase 'the whole is different from the sum of its parts.' It produced several enduring principles of perceptual organisation, including figure-ground segregation and grouping by proximity and similarity.
neuroscience · intro
A non-neuronal support cell in the nervous system that provides structural support, insulation, nutrients, and immune defence for neurons, and plays an active role in regulating synaptic signalling. Glial cells outnumber neurons in much of the brain and were long considered merely supportive, though research has increasingly shown they actively participate in information processing.
consciousness-theories · intermediate
Also called: GWT, global neuronal workspace
A theory of consciousness, originally proposed by psychologist Bernard Baars and later developed with neuroscientific detail by Stanislas Dehaene, holding that information becomes conscious when it is broadcast widely across many specialised brain regions via a shared 'workspace', making it available for varied cognitive processes such as memory, language, and decision-making at once. Unconscious processing, by contrast, stays confined to local, specialised circuits.
neuroscience · intermediate
The primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system, involved in most fast synaptic signalling and central to learning and memory processes such as long-term potentiation. Excessive glutamate activity is associated with excitotoxicity, a process implicated in stroke damage and some neurodegenerative diseases.