Neurological Glossary
Neurological terms are often complicated and difficult to understand. The following glossary defines a variety of terms to help you understand neurological terminology:
GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid)
Chemical produced by the brain to relax muscles - lacking in those with spasticity
Gadolinium-enhancing lesion
Abnormality on MRI that becomes bright after injection of the chemical compound gadolinium; implies breakdown in the blood-brain barrier
Gait
The characteristics of walking particular to an individual
Gait Trainers
Walking Aids
Gaiters
Splints to help keep knees and elbows straight.
Gamma motor neurons
Neurons that contract the ends of the muscle spindle so that spindle sensitivity to passive stretch is kept constant throughout muscle shortening
Ganglia
Aggregations of nerve cell bodies
Gastroscopy
Investigation of the interior of the stomach through special cameras at the end of a fibreoptic tube.
Gemistocyte
Reactive astrocyte having increased glial filaments and glassy eosinophilic cytoplasm
Generalised seizure
Seizure that affects both cerebral hemispheres simultaneously and causes unconsciousness
Geniculate ganglion
Sensory ganglion of the facial nerve that innervates taste buds on the anterior 2/3 of the tongue
Genu
Knee-like bend in the anterior part of the corpus callosum or internal capsule
Germinal matrix
A highly vascular
Gerstmann syndrome
A neurological disorder that includes a writing disability (agraphia or dysgraphia)
Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
Most widely used scoring system to quantify level of consciousness following traumatic brain injury; scores range from 3 to 15
Glia
Supporting cells of the nervous system that provide structural and metabolic support for the neurons; includes astrocytes
Glioblastoma multiforme
WHO grade IV astrocytoma characterized by hemorrhagic necrosis
Gliosis
Scar or dense fibrous network of glial processes in an area of CNS injury
Global aphasia
Impairment of language production
Globus pallidus
Most medial component of the basal ganglia and generator of most basal ganglionic output
Glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX)
Nerve containing motor
Goal setting
The process whereby the professionals and the patient decide on the main objectives for rehabilitation
Golgi tendon organs
Sense active stretch and via inhibitory inter-neurons inhibit the motor neurons to provide protection against hurtful contractile forces
Gower's sign
Manoeuvre used by patients with proximal muscle weakness (as in myopathy) in order to arise from the floor or from a kneeling or squatting position; the hands are used to 'walk up' the thighs
Gradenigo Syndrome
Ipsilateral lateral rectus palsy
Graphesthesia
Ability to recognize letters or numbers drawn on the finger or palm
Gray matter
Part of the CNS consisting of neuronal cell bodies and dendrites
Guillain-Barre syndrome (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy)
Acute
Gyrus
Convoluted ridge on the outer surface of the brain caused by infolding of the cerebral cortex and bound by sulci