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.

Non-system-specific Birth Defect
Amniotic band sequence

vascular dementia
A common form of dementia that results either from narrowing and blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain or by strokes that cause an interruption of blood flow within the brain.

closed head injury
An injury to the head or brain in which the skull remains intact.

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

Central nervous system Birth Defect
Neural tube defects, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly, Dandy-Walker malformation

cerebral palsy
A disorder caused by injury to the cerebral area of the brain that occurs before or during birth or in the first few months after birth. Damage to the cerebrum may cause paralysis (palsy) in one or more parts of the body.

Orofacial Birth Defect
Choanal atresia, cleft lip, cleft palate

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS causes degeneration of the nerve cells in certain regions of the brain and spinal cord that control the muscles.

CBDMP
California Birth Defects Monitoring Program