brain activity
Thoughts being processed
Brain activity is the electrical and chemical signaling occurring in the brain at any given time.
The term appears in medical and scientific contexts: The scan showed minimal brain activity.
It serves as a clinical marker for consciousness and cognitive function—absence of brain activity is one criterion for determining death.
Colloquially, it can suggest thinking or mental effort: There wasn't much brain activity happening during that meeting.
- synapsesNeuron-to-neuron transmission points
- neuronsSignal-transmitting brain cells
- nerve cellsSignal-transmitting body units
- gray matterBrain's cognitive tissue
- amygdalaEmotion-processing brain cluster
fight or flight · mental state · memory · neurotransmitters · attention · default mode network · axons · learning · executive function · thought process · dreaming · visual cortex · consciousness · electroencephalography · mood · language processing · flickering · cognitive function
- body functionsbreathing, digestion, heartbeat, circulation, respiration
- brain scienceneurons, synapses, neuron, cortex, neuropsychology
- thinkingthinking, reasoning, thought, ponder, contemplate
- neuroscienceneuron, MRI, neurons, synapses, dendrite
- physiologymetabolism, circulation, respiration, homeostasis, digestion
- brain scansMRI scan, CT scan, PET scan, fMRI, DTI
brain activitybrain death
Complete cessation of neural function
flatline · unconsciousness · coma · clinical death · persistent vegetative state
brain activitythoughtlessness
Lack of careful consideration
mindlessness · stupor · oblivion · switched off · empty-headedness