brain cells
Gray matter units
Brain cells are the neurons and supporting cells that make up the brain.
The term appears most often in casual contexts about intelligence or mental sharpness: I don't have enough brain cells for this, That movie killed some brain cells.
The implication is that cognitive ability depends on having plenty of functioning brain cells, and that stupidity, intoxication, or tedium depletes them.
Neuron's signal-sending projection
- somaBodily cells, excluding gametes
- gliaNon-neuronal brain cells
- astrocyteStar-shaped neural support cell
- microgliaCNS immune cells
neuroglia · myelin · neurotransmitter · synapse · receptor · cortical · cerebellum · brainstem
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
perception · awareness · consciousness · insight · judgment · logic · learning · analysis
Colloquial intelligence
- witsMental quickness and resourcefulness
- gray matterBrain's cognitive tissue
- marblesSmall spherical game pieces
- nogginInformal word for cranium
noodle · think tank · common sense · street smarts · savvy · sharpness · brainpower
Memory retrieval act
- retentionContinued holding or possession
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- forgetfulnessFailure to retain information
amnesia · long-term · short-term · episodic · semantic · declarative · procedural · engram
Progressive loss of neurons
- dementiaChronic cognitive impairment
- Alzheimer'sDegenerative brain disease
- concussionBrain injury from impact
- atrophyWasting from disuse
lesion · stroke · trauma · cell death · apoptosis · inflammation · neurotoxin · impairment
axon
Neuron's signal-sending projection
- somaBodily cells, excluding gametes
- gliaNon-neuronal brain cells
- astrocyteStar-shaped neural support cell
microglia · neuroglia · myelin · neurotransmitter · synapse · receptor · cortical · cerebellum · brainstem · hippocampus
intelligence
Mental ability, cognitive capacity
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
knowledge · perception · awareness · consciousness · insight · judgment · logic · learning · analysis · discernment
smarts
Colloquial intelligence
- witsMental quickness and resourcefulness
- gray matterBrain's cognitive tissue
- marblesSmall spherical game pieces
noggin · noodle · think tank · common sense · street smarts · savvy · sharpness · brainpower
recall
Memory retrieval act
- retentionContinued holding or possession
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
forgetfulness · amnesia · long-term · short-term · episodic · semantic · declarative · procedural · engram · consolidation
neurodegeneration
Progressive loss of neurons
- dementiaChronic cognitive impairment
- Alzheimer'sDegenerative brain disease
- concussionBrain injury from impact
atrophy · lesion · stroke · trauma · cell death · apoptosis · inflammation · neurotoxin · impairment · deterioration
- cellsblood cell, cell theory, nerve cell, red blood cell, cell structure
- neural tissueaxons, dendrites, glia, neuroglia, gray matter
- brain anatomycerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, cortex, cerebral cortex
- neuroscienceneuron, MRI, synapses, neurotransmitters, synapse
- brain partscerebellum, hippocampus, brainstem, thalamus, hypothalamus
- neuroanatomycerebellum, cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, brainstem
brain cellsmuscle fibers
Contractile cells in tissue
brawn · skeletal muscle · fat cells · adipocytes · connective tissue
brain, cells, neurons, dendrite, axonal, neuronal, synaptic, dendritic, brain cell