CARTA Glossary

Displaying 1 - 43 of 43 defined words for "Extraordinary Variations of the Human Mind: Lessons for Anthropogeny". To see all CARTA defined words, please view the complete glossary.

Word	Definition	Related Vocabulary
7q11.23 Duplication Syndrome	A developmental disorder resulting from a duplication of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7.
Amusia	The inability to recognize musical tones or to reproduce them (tone deafness).
Anomaly	Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Anxiety	A nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension.
Autism	A mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)	A range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.
Autobiography	An account of a person’s life written by that person.
Behavior	The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.
Chromosome	Discrete strands of tightly packaged chromatin.	Chromatin
Cognition	The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
Congenital	A disease or physical abnormality present from birth.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)	The molecule of inheritance, which consists of sequences of the four nucleotide bases: Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine.	Molecule, Nucleotide, Sequence
Gene	A DNA sequence which encodes a specific function.	DNA sequence
Genius	A person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect.
Genome	The totality of DNA in a cell. Also refers to the DNA sequence that typifies an individual or species.	Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), DNA sequence, Species
Genotype	The two alleles at one or more diploid loci.	Allele
Hemideletion	One of two paired chromosomes is affected by a deletion. The other chromosome is intact.	Williams Syndrome
Idiosyncrasy	A mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual.
Intuition	A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
Memory	The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.
Mind	The element of an individual that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.
Mutation	Change in a DNA or RNA sequence.	Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), Indel, Ribonucleic acid (RNA), Silent Mutations, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), Synonymous/Non-synonymous Mutations
Nervous system	The network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body.
Neural circuit	A neural circuit is a functional entity of interconnected neurons that is able to regulate its own activity using a feedback loop.
Neurobiology	The study of the morphology, behavior, and other qualities of the nervous system.
Neurogenetics	The study of the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system.
Neurological	Relating to the anatomy, functions, and organic disorders of nerves and the nervous system.
Neuron	A specialized cell that transmits nerve impulses and forms synapses with other cells.
Neuropsychology	The study of the relationship between behavior, emotion, and cognition and brain function.
Neurotypical	Not displaying or characterized by autistic or other neurologically atypical patterns of thought or behavior.
Never	A bundle of fibers that transmits impulses of sensation to the brain or spinal cord, and impulses from these to the muscles and organs.
Perciption	The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Phenotype	Observable traits of an organism that result from interactions between genes and environment during development.	Gene
Plasticity (brain)	The ability of the brain to change and adapt to new information. These changes can involve the establishment of new synapses or new neurons in some regions.
Polymorphism	The “many forms,” or genetic variants, of a single gene that exist and are maintained in a population at a frequency of 1% or higher.	Gene, Variant
Prodigy	A person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities.
Savant	A person affected with a mental disability who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field.
Savant Syndrome	is a loose term that refers to people who have a combination of significant cognitive difficulties, often stemming from autism, and profound skills.
Sequencing	Reading the order of nucleotides in DNA.	Coverage, Shotgun
Social	Relating to society or its organization.
Synaesthesia	A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another.
Variant	DNA that differs among groups studied.	Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Williams Syndrome	A genetic condition characterized by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning challenges. These often occur side by side with striking verbal abilities, highly social personalities and an affinity for music. 1 in 10,000 people worldwide are affected and occurs equally in males and females and in every culture. Children with Williams syndrome tend to be social, friendly and endearing.