Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

11 results found in neuroscience.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The division of the nervous system that regulates involuntary physiological processes including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and stress responses. The ANS has two main branches:…
Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI, Cortical Visual Impairment)
Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) is an umbrella term for visual deficits resulting from damage to the brain rather than the eyes. It affects visual perception, including visual acuity, cortical image …
Cocktail Party Effect
The human ability to focus auditory attention on a single speaker or sound source while filtering out competing voices and background noise. Named after the experience of following one conversation at…
Cross-modal Plasticity (Cross-modal Reorganisation, Cross-modal Cortical Recruitment, Sensory Substitution)
A neurological phenomenon in which brain regions typically dedicated to processing one sensory modality are repurposed to process information from another sense, often as a result of sensory deprivati…
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A non-invasive method of recording electrical activity of the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp. In assistive technology, EEG is the primary sensing technology behind brain-computer interface…
Neuroplasticity (Brain Plasticity, Neural Plasticity)
The brain's ability to reorganize its structure and function in response to experience, learning, and environmental stimulation throughout life. Neuroplasticity is a legitimate neuroscience concept, b…
Optic Flow (Visual Flow, Optical Flow)
The pattern of apparent motion of objects, surfaces, and edges in a visual scene caused by relative movement between the observer and the scene. Optic flow provides critical information about self-mot…
Proprioception (Proprioceptive Sense, Body Position Sense)
The body's ability to sense its own position, movement, and orientation in space without relying on vision. Proprioceptive information comes from sensory receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints that…
Sensory Compensation (Cross-Modal Plasticity, Sensory Substitution)
The phenomenon whereby the loss of one sense leads to enhanced abilities in remaining senses, driven by neuro-plasticity — the brain's capacity to reorganise its neural pathways. Research shows that b…
Visual Cognition (Visual Processing, Visual Perception)
The set of mental processes involved in perceiving, interpreting, and responding to visual information, including object recognition, spatial awareness, motion detection, and visual attention allocati…
Working Memory
The cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information needed for complex tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Working memory is a core executive functi…