CARTA Glossary

Temporary cessation of menstrual cycles after giving birth.

The portion of parietal neocortex that plays an important role in planned movements, spatial reasoning, and attention.

Depression that occurs after pregnancy. 15% of women experience depression after childbirth, making this the most common complication of childbirth.

A genetic disorder usually caused by deletion of part of chromosome 15 inherited from the father, causing imbalance in sex-specific imprinting. Results in behavioral problems, intellectual disability, and short stature.

The cerebral cortex that covers the front part of the frontal lobe and is linked to complex cognitive behavior, personality, long and short-term memory, decision making, speech, language, and a person’s will to live.

A pregnancy associated disorder characterized by high blood pressure and large amounts of protein in urine, typically accelerating during the third trimester.

The transport of vesicles containing neurotransmitters on the presynaptic side prior to release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft (chemical synapse).

A region of the brain located in the frontal lobe, specifically along the precentral gyrus. It is responsible for the initiation and control of voluntary movements by sending signals to muscles throughout the body, directing them to contract and execute movements.

A group of mammals that include humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians.

A type of abnormal, pathogenic protein that can cause other, normal, proteins to similarly misfold. Prions are involved in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “mad cow disease.”

The open-ended ability to combine meaningful linguistic units into new higher order units of meaning: for example, roots, prefixes (e.g. anti-), and suffixes (e.g. -ish) into words, and words (or signs) into phrases and sentences (Kluender, 2020).

Unicellular organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus, mitochondria, or any other membrane-bound organelle. This definition is now debated as some “prokaryotes,” such as archea (“extremophiles”), are more closely related to eukaryotes.

A protein hormone primarily produced by the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain. It plays a key role in stimulating milk production in females after childbirth. Prolactin also has other functions in both men and women, including regulating reproductive health, immune system function, and metabolism.

Predictor of positive outcome under most conditions, whether risk is low or high.

A short-acting medication, believed to work at least partly via GABA receptors, that is used for the starting and maintenance of general anesthesia, sedation for mechanically ventilated adults, and procedural sedation. Effects include decreased level of consciousness and a lack of memory for events.

A group of primates that includes all living and extinct galagos, lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. They are considered to have characteristics that are more “primitive” (ancestral) than those of monkeys, apes, and humans.

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. Proteins are molecules encoded by DNA sequences and composed of amino acids connected by peptide bonds. These range in size from a few amino acids (short peptides) to large molecules (long polypeptides) comprised of thousands of amino acids.

A section of DNA or RNA that codes for protein.

A ribosomal subunit that is activated by intracellular cascades and therefore used as a marker for neuron activity. This subunit is physically attached to RNA molecules that are being translated into protein and therefore can also provide information about which genes are expressed in active neurons.

An approach to machine intelligence that also incorporates other features of human intelligence such as causal reasoning, intuitive psychology, and physics.

The study of mental disorders.

High blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs. Also affects the right side of the heart.

An evolutionary model in which pronounced change takes place in short bursts followed by periods of evolutionary continuity. Compare with Continuity.

An infant transport behavior in which the mother uses her mouth to gently carry a pup by the back of the neck. Mothers do this if pups crawl out of the nest or if she has to move her pups to a new nest location. In the laboratory, this behavior can be used as an index of maternal motivation because it is a proactive, voluntary response to an infant.

Pertaining to quantity-related cognition (e.g., subitizing) that is shared by many species and which provides biological evolved preconditions for numerical cognition and arithmetic, but is itself not about number or arithmetic. Quantical processing seems to be about many sensorial dimensions other than number, and does not, by itself, scale up to produce number and arithmetic.

Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.

A subconscious defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge (or rationalization of) unwanted or unpleasant facts, realities, thoughts, or feelings. Related Term: “Denialism.”

A genetic variant that only has a phenotypic effect if it is present in two copies, except on most of an X-chromosome where a single copy is expressed when paired with a Y-chromosome as much of the Y does not correspond to the X and lacks X-linked genes.

Exchanges between chromosomes that causes independent inheritance of alleles.

Binding sites on chromosomes for transcription factors, which are involved in gene regulation.

Gaining knowledge of one’s own being (ontology) by relating to a being that is – or is held to be – categorically “Other”, and perceiving oneself from its perspective. That Other is usually an animal onto whom personhood is projected through this sort of inter-subjective encounter. Another term for this notion is New Animism.

The branch of biology that focuses on the processes, mechanisms, and systems involved in reproduction in living organisms. It studies how organisms produce offspring, including the biological, physiological, and genetic factors that govern sexual and asexual reproduction.

An individual’s production of offspring per breeding event or lifetime (also includes the reproductive success of the offspring). Compare with Fitness (Darwninian).

A population that is chronically infested with the causative agent of a disease and can act as a source of further infection.

Associated with the act of respiration or breathing.

A molecule essential in gene coding, decoding, regulation, and expression. RNA consists of sequences of the four nucleotide bases: Adenine, Uracil, Guanine, and Cytosine. Types of RNA include messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), small nuclear RNA (snRNA), and other non-coding RNAs. Some viruses including Influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 have RNA genomes.

Higher probability of a negative (undesired) outcome.

A sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, and are often traditional to a community or religion. In psychology, a ritual is a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize or prevent anxiety.

A virus that has RNA (ribonucleic acid) as its genetic material. This nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) but may be double-stranded RNA (dsRNA).

Extinct large cats characterized by long, curved sabre-shaped canine teeth that protruded from the mouth when closed. Three genera are known from Early Pleistocene East Africa: Dinofells, Megantereon, and Homotherium.

During the Pleistocene Epoch, when the sea level was as much as 150m lower than today, the land masses of Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea were all part of a broader continental area, which is called the Sahul Shelf by contemporary geologists.

A bacterium species of the genus Salmonella. Most cases of salmonellosis in humans is caused by S. enterica, often via infected cattle or poultry, including eggs. S. enterica can be divided in six subspecies and comprise over 2,000 serovars.

An intestinal infection caused by Salmonella bacteria. Common symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting.

Members of various Khoisan-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer and former hunter-gatherer groups that are the first nations of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. mtDNA and Y chromosome studies show that the San carry some of the most divergent (oldest) human haplogroups.

A transitory ecotone between the tropical moist broadleaf forests of Equatorial Africa and the drier savannas and open woodlands to the north and south of the forest belt. The forest-savanna mosaic consists of drier forests, often gallery forest, interspersed with savannas and open grasslands.

is a loose term that refers to people who have a combination of significant cognitive difficulties, often stemming from autism, and profound skills.

Organisms that search for and feed on carrion, dead plant material, or refuse.

A small marine fish known for its distinct horse-like head and upright posture. They are typically found in shallow coastal waters, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. Their bodies are covered in bony plates instead of scales, and they can change color to blend in with their surroundings. Seahorses are also notable for their reproductive behavior: in most seahorse species, the males carry the fertilized eggs in a brood pouch until they hatch, after which they “give birth” to live young.