Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration
Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (formerly called Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome) is a disorder of the nervous system. The condition is characterized by progressive difficulty with movement and speech

NBDPN
National Birth Defects Prevention Network

stroke
A condition produced by a blood clot that lodges in an artery and blocks the flow of blood to a portion of the brain, producing symptoms ranging from paralysis of limbs and loss of speech to unconsciousness and death. Less commonly, a stroke may be the result of bleeding into the substance of the brain.

SADDAN
SADDAN (severe achondroplasia with developmental delay and acanthosis nigricans) is a rare inherited disorder of bone growth characterized by skeletal, brain, and skin abnormalities.

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.

cerebellum
The portion of the brain mainly responsible for balance and coordination.

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.

Bell's palsy
A weakness or paralysis of the muscles that control expression on one side of the face because of damage to a facial nerve.

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.

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.