CARTA Glossary

Pain, hypohedonia, dysphoria, anxiety, hyperalgesia, irritability, and sleep disturbances associated with drug abstinence following excessive drug taking.

A neuropeptide that regulates arousal, wakefulness, and appetite.

A class of lectins belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. e.g., Siglecs

A sign that shares perceived physical properties with the thing it refers to (its “referent”) (Kluender, 2020).

Those who do not store food, but consume it within a day or two of obtaining it. This means there is no opportunity to accumulate surplus.

The biological defense system of an organism that protects against disease.

A type of region (domain) present in many different proteins that is self-stabilizing and folds independently.

The branch of biology and biomedicine concerned with the study of immune systems.

A conserved sequence of amino acids, including phosphorylated tyrosine, that is found intracellularly in the cytoplasmic domains of many inhibitory receptors.

A sign that depends for its reference on the physical presence of the thing that it refers (its “referent”) to at some point in space and time (e.g. smoke, a weather vane, a bullet hole, your index finger) (Kluender, 2020).

The transition from agrarian and handcraft manufacture of goods to large scale industrial production starting 1760 in Great Britain and the United States.

The invasion of an organism’s organs or tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of the host tissues to the pathogens.

The lowest positioned gyrus of the frontal gyri, of the frontal lobe, and is part of the prefrontal cortex. It is located in Broca’s area, which is involved in language processing and speech production.

A procedure that partially closes the inner or outer labia across the urethral meatus and vaginal opening through cutting, suturing, or sealing to leave a smooth scar.

Often referred to as “flu,” this is a highly contagious viral respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever, severe body aches, and catarrh. Because it is so contagious, influenza often produces epidemics. There are several influenza viruses that affect humans (A, B, C) - all enveloped RNA viruses.

In piercing, the act of putting jewelry into an existing pierced channel, often with the aid of an insertion taper.

The power of minds to be about, to represent, or to stand for, things, properties and states of affairs. Refers to the ability of the mind to form representations and should not be confused with intention. Beliefs about others’ beliefs display what is sometimes known as “higher-order intentionality.”

Temporal coordination of behavior, physiology, neural activity, and/or mental representations between individuals.

A proposition in which some of a system’s output is returned through the input for processing, which allows the system to make adjustments in the output.

A research framework that adapts procedures to be more inclusive of underrepresented groups through community engagement with diverse participants and individualized methods to accommodate neural diversity.

A non-indigenous organism that can destabilize ecosystems when introduced.

Each of two or more forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular, a radioactive form of an element.

An infection of the central nervous system caused by the Japanese Encephalitis Virus. Most infections are benign but occasionally can cause inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), headaches, vomiting, fever, confusion and seizures.

A yellowing of the eyes and skin due to rapid breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs) and release of degraded hemoglobin.

In 1989, at age 4-5, he witnessed his father murder his mother and subsequently fled into the Ugandan jungle. He was accepted as a peripheral member of a group of vervet monkeys who cared for and nourished him for a period of two years. He was found and captured in 1991.

An important archaeological site in Africa with a sequence of human activity over 250,000 years. Kalambo Falls is located in northeastern Zambia, along the border with Tanzania.

A collective term for non-Bantu indigenous people of South Africa, as well as for the related languages they speak.

A description of the forces acting on a body; the forces the body exerts (or resists) during locomotion.

A palaeoanthropological area in the southern Main Ethiopian Rift that was discovered 1991 The Konso-Gardula sediments span ~ 1.9 mya to 1.3 mya. Early Homo fossils and Acheulean stone tools have been found here. 

The lengthening of the inner or outer labia through a regimen of pulling and stretching, often with herbs. Formerly included in the World Health Organization (WHO) typology of female genital modifications. Also known as “labia minora elongation,” or LME.

A genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria that convert sugars to lactic acid. In humans, they are a significant component of the microbiome and can survive in the harsh pH conditions of the digestive and genital systems. Lactobacillus species are normally a major part of the vaginal microbiota. While receiving nutrients from their human host, Lactobacilli protect the host against certain pathogens, even helping to treat diarrhea, vaginal infections, and skin disorders such as eczema. Lactobacillus is the most common probiotic, perhaps most notable for its use in yogurt.

A common genus of beneficial Lactobacillus bacteria that normally inhabits the lower reproductive system and vagina of healthy women.

Machine learning algorithms that can recognize, summarize, translate, predict, and generate human languages on the basis of very large text-based datasets.

The Last Glacial Maximum occurred about 20,000 years ago (or more specifically between 24,000 and 18,000 years BP) during the last phase of the Pleistocene Epoch, when the global sea level was some 125 meters lower than it is today, due to the sea water being locked up as glaciers and ice sheets, and having reached their maximum total mass during the last ice age. The climate was much colder and drier.

A sleep schedule therapy hypothesized to relieve peripartum depression by altering melatonin and sleep timing (sleep from 9:00 pm - 01:00 am).

Plants in the Fabaceae family that include beans, peas, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, alfalfa, and clover, to name a few. Many legumes have a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. They also tend to have large, protein-rich seeds.

A basic unit of lexical meaning core to set of related words (play, plays, playing, played, player, with play as the lexeme).

The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge.

The schedule of life, including birth to sexual maturity, duration of the reproductive period, duration of the post-reproductive period (if there is one), and mortality rate at each stage.

A molecule specifically recognized by another molecule and involved in specific interactions.

A paradigm used in the laboratory to model scarcity of resources. Mothers (rats/mice) are not given enough nesting materials to build a nest for their infants and neglect/maltreatment occurs as a result.

Long interspersed nuclear elements class 1 (LINE1) is a type of transposable element, or “jumping gene,” that randomly copies and inserts itself into different genomic locations through reverse transcription (conversion of RNA into DNA). These active LINE1s can interrupt the genome through insertions, deletions, rearrangements, and copy number variations. LINE1 activity has contributed to the instability and evolution of genomes. As such, they are tightly regulated in the germline, however, they are controlled differently in apes and humans. LINE1 retrotransposons make up to ~17% of the human genome. While the majority are inactive in the human genome, there are roughly 80-100 that have retained the ability to retrotranspose with considerable variation between individuals.

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. A fatty or waxy organic compound involved in important cellular activities like storing energy, as a component of the cell membrane, and signaling within and between other cells.

The oldest known stone tools consisting of 150 artifacts found in Lomekwi, Kenya, close to Lake Turkana. ~3.3 mya.

Typical length of life.

The part of the menstrual cycle between ovulation and menstruation.

A substance required in relatively large amounts by living organisms: Fats, proteins, carbohydrates in an animal diet or chemical elements such as potassium, magnesium, calcium as required by plants.

A flowering plant of the Asparagaceae family that is native to Mexico and the United States (Texas). It is commonly used for ornamentation in arid climates due to its drought tolerance, in cuisine and distilling (tequila), as medicine, and to make ropes, nets, bags, cloth, and paper.

A set of closely linked polymorphic genes that code for cell surface proteins (MHC molecules) that assist the adaptive immune system in detection of foreign molecules.