CARTA Glossary

A commercial or homemade tool designed to assist or perform the actual piercing of the tissue.

A region of the brain located in the anterior part of the hypothalamus that critically regulates care giving behavior.

For most organisms, it is the pigment in skin and hair, but is also found in the iris of the eye, the inner ear, and some parts of the brain. Melanin is produced as three basic types: eumelanin, pheomelanin, and neuromelanin. The melanin in the skin is produced by melanocytes, which exist across human populations in similar concentration in their skin. However, the melanocytes in some populations produce variable amounts of melanin. This variation is likely due to the melanin’s property to absorb and dissipate UV radiation, protecting skin from harmful damage. UV exposure is associated with increased risk of malignant melanoma, a cancer of melanocytes.

The time of life when female menstruation naturally and permanently ceases.

The process of representing and reasoning about the mental states, thought, and feelings of the self and others. Also known as Theory of Mind.

The area from central Mexico to Honduras and El Salvador occupied by a network of indigenous societies united by use of related calendars, similar technologies, and the exchange of materials needed to support those technologies before the entry of Europeans into the region.

The rate at which fuels (such as sugars or fats) are broken down for the production of cellular energy.

The ethnic group that composed Aztec society in central Mexico during the 16th century CE.

The totality of all organisms (microbes) that live on and in the body.

A type of glia that functions as the primary innate immune cells of the central nervous system and are involved in brain development and maintenance. These cells are not of neuronal origin but rather migrate from the yolk sac to the brain during embryogenesis.

A chemical element or substance required in trace amounts for the normal growth and development of living organisms that the organism cannot synthesize itself. 

The second subdivision of the Paleolithic, or Stone Age and consist of use of prepared cores (Levallois Technique) and hafted tools and weapons. ~300 kya -30 kya.

A proposed singular phase in hominid evolution in which maladaptive mortality salience and death anxiety were triggered by acquiring the capacity for Extended Theory of Mind, but were (in this one instance) tolerated by the simultaneous acquisition of Reality Denial in the same minds - allowing gene culture-evolution to fix both capacities in the resulting hominin lineage, at the neurobiological and genetic level.

A meditative practice centered around being present in the moment.

Membrane-bound cell organelles that generate most of the chemical energy, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions. Mitochondria are believed to be endosymbionts that were originally prokaryotic cells that became incorporated into eukaryotic organisms.

The phenomenon whereby one organism produces molecules that are identical or very similar to those of another organism (such as its host). Parasites and pathogens repeatedly evolve molecular mimicry for host manipulation and immune evasion.

A simple sugar; the most basic unit of a carbohydrate.

The sub-discipline of linguistics concerned with the structure and parts of words (stems, root words, prefixes, and suffixes), how words are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language. Parts of speech, intonation and stress, and contextual pronunciation and meaning are aspects of Morphology.

The part of the cerebral cortex in the brain where the nerve impulses originate that initiate voluntary muscular activity.

The part of the nervous system that controls voluntary movement.

A stone tool type characterized by hand- axes, scrapers, triangle points, and denticulates (a stone tool with edges of multiple notched shapes, or teeth) produced using a prepared core (i.e. Levallois Technique) and is most associated with Neanderthals. ~315 - 30 kya.

An auditory form of art composed of pitch (melody and harmony), rhythm (tempo, meter, articulation), dynamics (loudness/softness), timbre and texture.

An involuntary, permanent alteration of the body.

The pathogenic bacteria that causes tuberculosis.

Untrue stories that both the teller and listener usually believe to be true.

A common variant of sialic acid in many vertebrates that is not made by humans but can be incorporated from diets rich in red meat.

The factual or fictional representation of a coherent particular sequence of events, usually involving some agency and purpose.

A type of antibody that exists in the absence of active immunization via infection and/or contact with fetal antigens during pregnancy as a first line of defense until a specific antibody response is mounted.

The failure to provide for the development of the child in all spheres: health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter, and safe living conditions (including protecting the child from harm). It is the most common form of child maltreatment. In rodents, neglect it is similarly defined as inconsistent care, failure to group displaced infants in the nest, infant avoidance and failure to protect infants from harm or potential harm.

The new growth of cells proliferating without regard to stop signals and with attendant new blood vessels that forms a neoplasm.

The delay or slowing of development. Compared to other primates, humans are considered neotenous due to the retention of physiological traits typical of juveniles such as facial features (globular skull shape, thinness of skull bones, reduction of browridge, flattened face, larger eyes), limb length ratio, and behavior.

Cells that are capable of dividing a limited number of times and have the capacity to differentiate into a restricted repertoire of neuronal and glial cell types.

The process by which neural stem cells produce neurons.

A subset of neurotransmitters that regulate diverse populations of other neurons.

A multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. It encompasses the evolution, development, cellular and molecular biology, physiology, anatomy and pharmacology of the nervous system, as well as computational, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience.

A chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other cells.

A form of ecological inheritance in which organisms alter the environment in ways that affect the developmental context and selection pressures acting on subsequent generations.

A receptor polypeptide that responds to the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, and also responds to nicotine.

RNA that is not translated into a protein. Important ncRNAs include transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), as well as small RNAs such as microRNAs, siRNAs, piRNAs, snoRNAs, snRNAs, exRNAs, scaRNAs and the long ncRNAs such as Xist and HOTAIR.

The finding that care giving behavior can occur in female rats and mice that have not reproduced themselves through repeated exposure to infants.

Depression that is not related to changes in the seasons.

A hormone and neurotransmitter that mobilizes the brain and body for action.

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. The overall name for DNA and RNA, which are composed of nucleotides. DNA is double-stranded and more stable while RNA is single-stranded and less stable.

Glycosylamines corresponding to nucleotides lacking a phosphate.

Exact symbolic quantifier that designates the cardinality of a collection of objects. It is abstract (i.e., it transcends perceptual modalities), relational, and operable. In its most prototypical case it is associated with the familiar counting sequence ‘1, 2, 3, . . . ’

A scale of measurement for evaluating the numerousness of stimuli (e.g., a collection of discriminable objects) utilized especially by psychophysicists in the mid-20th century, and by means of which an experimenter establishes the cardinal attribute of physical collections of objects.

Excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems. Defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher. Obesity rates in the US have reached 42%, up 12% in the last 10 years.

A type of igneous rock occurring as a natural glass formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava from volcanoes. Sometimes called “volcanic glass.”