A term used to refer to the reading profile in which regular words and non-words can be read more accurately than exception words. Derived from studies of adult patients with acquired dyslexia, but also used to refer to a relatively rare sub-type of developmental dyslexia . See Dyslexia, Exception words
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
One of several clusters of associated neurons on each side of the hypothalamus just above the optic chasm, which contains a network that maintains a 24-hour rhythm of activity. It receives visual information via an accessory optic tract and projects to the pineal gland. The SCN is believed to function as a central pacemaker governing …
Supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS)
An obstruction of the largest blood vessel of the body, the aorta. It is associated with deletion of the elastin gene and found in individuals with Williams syndrome. See Aortic hypoplasia, Elastin (gene), Williams syndrome
Supplementary motor area (SMA)
A large premotor area located in the medial prefrontal region of each hemisphere and just in front to the primary motor cortex in primates that represents contralateral body movements and contralateral sensory receptors in a somatotopic pattern. Receiving input from the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, it is involved in the initiation of movements and …
Supine infant sleep position
Sleeping on the back, considered the safest sleep position for human infant and which likely evolved alongside and in relationship to the species-specific pattern of mother infant co-sleeping with nighttime breast feeding. See Prone infant sleep position, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS, cot or crib death)
Supernumerary connections
Superfluous synaptic connections that disappear during development . See Polynnervation to monoinnervation, Quantitative and qualitative regressions
Supervisory attentional system (SAS)
A key element within a model of higher- order cognitive control originally devised by Donald Norman and Tim Shallice, the SAS is proposed to deal with the non-routine selection of actions, not by directly controlling behaviour, but by modulating the activity of lower level systems. A parallel may be drawn between the supervisory function of …
Superior temporal sulcus and gyrus
An area of the temporal lobes of the brain in which there are cells that respond to human faces and actions. See Fusiform gyrus, Gyrus, Mind-blindess theory, Mirror neurons, Sulcus
Superior colliculus
A structure in the midbrainjust below the thalamus and on the roof of the brain stem, implicated in the control of eye-movements and head movements and their coordination during orienting movements. In mammals, the superior colliculus is a site of significant multisensory convergence, andhas been used extensively as a model of the neural basis of …
Superior temporal polysensory (STS) area
A region of the inferior temporal lobe thought to be involved in processing faces . See Autism, Face processing, Fusiform gyrus, Temporal cortex