Self And The Phenomenon Of Life: A Biologist Examines Life From Molecules To Humanity

Glossary 353

“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity

Cerebral cortex: see Cortex of the brain.

Chaos theory: Also known as deterministic chaos. A non-linear dynamic

system whose outcome diverges widely depending on the initial conditions.

Chloroplast: A particle (organelle) in a plant cell that contains chlorophyll and

is responsible for photosynthesis.

Chondrites: Meteorites that preserve the original composition during the

formation of the solar system.

Cingulate cortex: A part of cerebral cortex in the medial side of the

hemisphere. Anterior cingulate cortex is involved in pain interpretation and

visceral sensations.

Clonal selection: A mechanism of adaptive immunity by which the activated

lymphocytes are allowed to proliferate and expand in number.

Codon: A unit of three nucleotides in a DNA molecule whose sequence codes

for a specific amino acid in a protein.

Compatibilist: One who believes that free will is possible in a deterministic

world.

Conditioning: A type of associative learning in which an irrelevant stimulus

is capable of eliciting a response, when the stimulus was previously paired

with (preceding) a relevant stimulus. The term originated from Pavlov’s

conditioned reflex experiment.

Cortex of the brain: The layer of gray matter forming the outer mantle of the

cerebrum (cerebral cortex) or the cerebellum (cerebellar cortex). Cerebral

cortex is divided into archicortex, paleocortex, and neocortex, in chronological

order of evolution. Neocortex is the highest developed one and has six layers

of neurons. In the human brain, the neocortex occupies most of the cerebral

cortex and comprises the following: frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal.

CT scan: see CAT scan.

Cybernetics: The study of a system capable of self-regulation, the simplest

example of which is the thermostat.

Cyclic AMP: Cyclic adenosine monophosphate. A second messenger impor-

tant for transducing message from the cell surface to the nucleus.

Defensins: Antimicrobial peptides found in animals as part of innate immunity.

Dendrite: Short processes extending from the neuronal cell body that serve

as the receiving end of a synapse. A neuron contains numerous dendrites

forming dendritic arborization.

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