Sensorineural hearing lossSensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the inner ear or sensory organ (cochlea and associated structures) or the vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII). SNHL accounts for about 90% of reported hearing loss . SNHL is usually permanent and can be mild, moderate, severe, profound, or total. Various other descriptors can be used depending on the shape of the audiogram, such as high frequency, low frequency, U-shaped, notched, peaked, or flat.
Rotation formalisms in three dimensionsIn geometry, various formalisms exist to express a rotation in three dimensions as a mathematical transformation. In physics, this concept is applied to classical mechanics where rotational (or angular) kinematics is the science of quantitative description of a purely rotational motion. The orientation of an object at a given instant is described with the same tools, as it is defined as an imaginary rotation from a reference placement in space, rather than an actually observed rotation from a previous placement in space.
Neurofibromatosis type IINeurofibromatosis type II (also known as MISME syndrome – multiple inherited schwannomas, meningiomas, and ependymomas) is a genetic condition that may be inherited or may arise spontaneously, and causes benign tumors of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. The types of tumors frequently associated with NF2 include vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, and ependymomas. The main manifestation of the condition is the development of bilateral benign brain tumors in the nerve sheath of the cranial nerve VIII, which is the "auditory-vestibular nerve" that transmits sensory information from the inner ear to the brain.
Thalamocortical radiationsIn neuroanatomy, thalamocortical radiations also known as thalamocortical fibres, are the efferent fibres that project from the thalamus to distinct areas of the cerebral cortex. They form fibre bundles that emerge from the lateral surface of the thalamus. Thalamocortical fibers (TC fibres) have been referred to as one of the two constituents of the isothalamus, the other being microneurons. Thalamocortical fibers have a bush or tree-like appearance as they extend into the internal capsule and project to the layers of the cortex.
Vestibular membraneThe vestibular membrane, vestibular wall or Reissner's membrane, is a membrane inside the cochlea of the inner ear. It separates the cochlear duct from the vestibular duct. It helps to transmit vibrations from fluid in the vestibular duct to the cochlear duct. Together with the basilar membrane, it creates a compartment in the cochlea filled with endolymph, which is important for the function of the spiral organ of Corti. It allows nutrients to travel from the perilymph to the endolymph of the membranous labyrinth.
Quaternions and spatial rotationUnit quaternions, known as versors, provide a convenient mathematical notation for representing spatial orientations and rotations of elements in three dimensional space. Specifically, they encode information about an axis-angle rotation about an arbitrary axis. Rotation and orientation quaternions have applications in computer graphics, computer vision, robotics, navigation, molecular dynamics, flight dynamics, orbital mechanics of satellites, and crystallographic texture analysis.
Cortical homunculusA cortical homunculus () is a distorted representation of the human body, based on a neurological "map" of the areas and proportions of the human brain dedicated to processing motor functions, or sensory functions, for different parts of the body. Nerve fibresconducting somatosensory information from all over the bodyterminate in various areas of the parietal lobe in the cerebral cortex, forming a representational map of the body. Findings from the 2010s and early 2020s began to call this interpretation into question, and research is ongoing in this field.
Orientation (geometry)In geometry, the orientation, attitude, bearing, direction, or angular position of an object – such as a line, plane or rigid body – is part of the description of how it is placed in the space it occupies. More specifically, it refers to the imaginary rotation that is needed to move the object from a reference placement to its current placement. A rotation may not be enough to reach the current placement, in which case it may be necessary to add an imaginary translation to change the object's position (or linear position).
NeuroplasticityNeuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, information acquisition, environmental influences, practice, and psychological stress.
Neutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which a neutrino created with a specific lepton family number ("lepton flavor": electron, muon, or tau) can later be measured to have a different lepton family number. The probability of measuring a particular flavor for a neutrino varies between three known states, as it propagates through space. First predicted by Bruno Pontecorvo in 1957, neutrino oscillation has since been observed by a multitude of experiments in several different contexts.