Learn more about action potentials and membrane depolarization with Khan Academy. See also their video here.

Stands for standard error, a measure to test how far the mean of the sample is from the estimated mean of the population.

A structure that gives rise to the peripheral nervous system and non-neuronal cells.

These bodies, consisting of receptors and cells, are located near the carotid arteries. There are two carotid arteries that run on either side of the neck, carrying blood to the neck, face, and brain.

A structure that gives rise to neurons and other structures in the nervous system.

Learn more about placodes with another annotated paper: https://www.scienceintheclassroom.org/research-papers/hair-feathers-and-scales-evolutionary-tale

A regulation that controls the conversion of DNA to RNA in organisms. Learn more with this HHMI BioInteractive video.

A set of codes that helps the organism adapt and maintain life.

In this instance, regulation occurs at the gene level to adapt to environmental conditions.

A gland situated above the kidneys. Adrenal glands produce a variety of hormones.

Neuroendocrine cells are the cells that receive input from neurons and release a hormone into blood for output. Any hormone produced and released by neuroendocrine cells are referred to as neurohumoral products.

Connections between the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal system.

A neurotransmitter that can be released from exocrine glands; for instance, sweat glands.

Functions include relaxation of smooth muscles in the stomach and gall bladder, and contraction of heart muscles.

It has been shown that in sweat glands, both VIP and acetylcholine (or cholinergic) are released from the same population of neurons.

An enzyme that converts dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) to dopamine.

Plasticity can be defined as the ability of the brain to mold and shape in response to experience. The change can be due to change in the receptors present in the brain, the chemicals itself, or the mechanism by which receptors respond to chemicals. 

Neurotransmitter plasticity refers to changes in neurotransmitters in response to plasticity.

Experiments that are performed on animals or humans.

Functions of the body that are essential for life; e.g., sleeping, eating, breathing, bladder activity.

The sympathetic nervous system is a part of the nervous system that controls the essential functions of life; for example, blood pressure and heart rate. The neurons present in this system are called sympathetic neurons.

You can think of the nervous system as electrical wiring, transmitting signals to and from different parts of the body. The system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Neurons are cells found in the brain.

The human nervous system is made up of two components, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The PNS consists of nerves and fibers outside of the brain and spinal cord (which make up the CNS).

These are a class of neurotransmitters. Peptides are made of amino acids or a chain of amino acids.

Read more about the different neurotransmitters here.

Refers to the cells that release neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Learn more in this video about neurotransmitter release: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/nervous-system-and-sensory-infor/neural-cells-and-neurotransmitters/v/neurotransmitter-release

Refers to cells that release the neurotransmitter, norepinephrine. An alternative name for norepinephrine is noradrenalin.

Fructose is only absorbed through diffusion into a cell, this means it relies on there being a lower concentration of fructose in a cell compared to the intestine. Passive absorption often leads to a saturation of the channels and so not as much fructose can be absorbed.

Sodium-coupled glucose transporters are found in the intestine. They use energy gathered from sodium ion transport into the bloodstream to generate energy to import glucose into a cell. Using energy to import a molecule up a concentration gradient (there is more glucose inside the cell than outside so it costs energy to import more) is termed active transport.

Wnt signaling is group of a pathways that regulate gene transcription and growth. Normally APC controls and limits growth that Wnt stimulates but when APC is deleted or mutated Wnt signaling is uncontrolled and leads to cancer formation.

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli is a tumor suppresor gene meaning that when it is functional, APC controls cell growth and prevents tumor formation. When it becomes mutated or deleted (as in the mouse models), uncontrolled cell growth leads to tumor formation.

A system of glands in the body that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, mood, sleep, development etc.

A cluster of factors such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat and abnormal cholesterol which contribute to diseases such as diabetes, heart-disease and strokes.

Multiple factors at play which can affect an outcome or result. In this case it is impossible to separate the variables of obesity, which causes a host of complications such as high blood pressure, and abnormal cholesterol, from the direct effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.

The fluid component of blood left after cells and clotting factors are removed.

Lumen; The inside space of a tubular structure. The intestine is a long digestive organ that contains a tube of cells which absorb nutrients of food that is passing through the inside of the tube, which is called the intestinal lumen.

A scale on which tumors are judged by abnormality and the cells' likelihood to spread.

A sweetener made from corn starch. It contains a mixture of glucose and fructose molecules which taste the same and have the same calories, though they are processed differently in the body.

formation of cancerous clusters of cells (tumors), where cell growth is uncontrolled

define

Tandem means having two in a row. and mass spectrometry is a method used to analyze samples to look at chemical makeup by looking at charge-to-mass signatures of individual atoms in a sample. Putting two mass spectrometers in a row increases the sensitivity of this method so that ions that are close in mass can be told apart. A great analogy and explanation can be found in this Youtube video.

adjective; far from the center. The end-most part of the intestines.

define

adverb; as much as desired. The authors put high-fructose corn syrup in water for the mice to drink as much as they wanted.

Noun; large and diverse amount of

Define APC

Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was an American astronomer, physicist and inventor. His research on solar and lunar radiation greatly influenced Arrhenius.

Arrhenius used data from Langley's 1890 publication "The Temperature of the Moon" as the basis for his model.

Joseph Fourier (1768-1830) was a French scientist and mathematician who studied heat transfer. He theorized that Earth's atmosphere could act as a thermal insulator by absorbing heat (radiation) emitted by Earth's surface.

Arvid Hogbom (1857-1940), a Swedish geologist, was a colleague of Arrhenius, a professor at Stockholm University and a member of the Physical Society.

De Marchi seems to refer to the ability of the atmosphere to let through all wavelengths of radiation. He probably focused on the ability of water vapor in clouds to reflect incoming solar radiation, reducing how much solar energy reaches Earth's surface.

When Arrhenius discusses transparency in relation to his model, he focuses on the ability of water vapor to absorb infrared radiation and re-emit it back toward Earth's surface.

Luigi De Marchi was an Italian meteorologist. The work quoted here is from his prize-winning essay for a competition on the causes of the Ice Age.

A measure of the shape of an ellipse, how far it is flattened from a circular shape. An orbit with low eccentricity is almost circular, whereas an orbit with high eccentricity is highly elliptical.

Items 3, 5 and 9 in De Marchi's list make up the Milankovitch Cycles, which affect how much energy Earth receives from the Sun and how that energy is distributed over the globe.

For more information, see this resource from Climatica: http://climatica.org.uk/climate-science-information/long-term-climate-change-milankovitch-cycles

Also called "precession", this refers to the orientation of Earth's rotational axis relative to its position in its orbit around the Sun.

Items 3, 5 and 9 in De Marchi's list make up the Milankovitch Cycles, which affect how much energy Earth receives from the Sun and how that energy is distributed over the globe.

For more information, see this resource from Climatica: http://climatica.org.uk/climate-science-information/long-term-climate-change-milankovitch-cycles

The tilt of Earth's rotational axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun.

Items 3, 5 and 9 in De Marchi's list make up the Milankovitch Cycles, which affect how much energy Earth receives from the Sun and how that energy is distributed over the globe.

For more information, see this resource from Climatica: http://climatica.org.uk/climate-science-information/long-term-climate-change-milankovitch-cycles

lowering

even more

This is a Latin phrase which translates as "from the stronger". Here, Arrhenius uses it to indicate that the remainder of the sentence presents an even stronger argument than the previous sentence.

unsupportable

namely; in other words

Differentially expressed genes are ones that have higher expression in one condition versus another.

In this context, bulk sequencing refers to the analysis of whole tissue, as opposed to single cells or nuclei.

Protoplasmic astrocytes are a subset of astrocytes that are located in the gray matter (which consists mostly of cell bodies) in the brain. They have many complex processes that can contact blood vessels and neurons.

Unbiased clustering is a statistical approach to make sense of large sets of data. It allows scientists to group together ("cluster") genes that are similar to one another.

Astrocytes, like microglia, are cells that facilitate neuronal functions. They mediate neuronal signaling, support the blood brain barrier, and help respond to sites of trauma.

Interneurons are neurons that act as an intermediate between two other neurons.

Upper-layer refers to where in the cortex these neurons are located.

Excitatory neurons are neurons which increases the activity of the cells it's connected to.

The RNA integrity number, or RIN, is an index of RNA quality. RNA can sometimes be degraded when it is isolated, so this is a useful way to see if the RNA is still reliable.

The postmortem interval is the time between when an individual died and when the tissue was prepared.

The anterior cingulate cortex is the part of the brain associated with higher level functions such as emotion, empathy, and decision making.

The prefrontal cortex is an area at the front of the brain. It is associated with social behavior, decision making, and personality.

Cortico-cortical projection neurons are cortical neurons which project (or connect to) other cortical neurons.

Microglia are "helper cells" in the brain. They help mediate neuron responses, clear out dead cells, and control immune responses.

Synaptic signaling refers to how neurons communicate with one another.

A projection called an axon from the pre-synaptic neuron touches or "synapses on" the dendritic projections of the post-synaptic neuron. Chemicals called neurotransmitters are released from the pre-synaptic neuron and mediate responses in the post-synaptic neuron.

The transcriptome refers to the total set of RNA transcribed from DNA.

In single-nucleus RNA sequencing, the nucleus (which contains DNA and nascently transcribed RNA) is isolated from a single cell. The isolated RNA undergoes RNA-sequencing, in which the RNA is broken up into fragments. Using a database, these fragments are then aligned to specific transcripts.

The neocortex is the part of the brain that in humans is associated with higher level functions such as cognition and language.

Genetic heterogeneity refers to the ability of a phenotype (in this case, autism) to manifest via genetic mutations in multiple different loci. This means that there isn't one single genetic mutation that's associated with autism.

Refers to the process of separating desired products from biosynthetic pathways

Any reagent that exhibits chirality (or asymmetry) in its molecular structure

compounds that contain two fused benzene rings; also referred to as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

organic compounds that contain a halogen connected to a benzene ring

an active site created by chance rather than by design

The amnio acid, methionine

located at a closer distance

repels or has no affinity towards water

relatively unchanged when one goes back in genealogical time

An organism that thrives in extreme high temperature and high salt concentrations

Enantioinduction is also popularly known as asymmetric induction. This process is the preferential formation of one enantiomer over the other as a result of the influence of a chiral feature present in reactants or the catalyst.

not harmful to living cells

Compounds that contain carbon-silicon bonds

A compound available in one enantiomeric form

Chemoselectivity is the preferential reaction of a reagent with a specific functional group over others. Enantioselectivity is the extent to which one enantiomer is formed over the other in a chemical reaction.

speed up a reaction with the use of external agent, typically a chemical compound

A meeting of a subset of students from a larger lecture course in which students can ask questions, get clarification on lecture topics, and may solve additional problems or take quizzes (typically required with very large college courses).

Statistical measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables.

Another term for the "gender achievement gap" in which men outperform women in the same field.

High-paying.

Understanding the main ideas that make up the field.

Activities in which the student participates (as opposed to passively listening to a lecture).

Educational resources that can be incorporated into a teacher's lessons.

Short scenarios that give the student a real-world situation in which to apply their knowledge.

Stereotype threat or identity threat.

Fear and anxiety caused by the thought of having to take an exam.

Related to teaching.

The subjects that do not receive treatment.

Related to an individual's sense of identity.

Test on all material covered during the course.

The frequency of occurrence of some measure (for example: how many students got As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs).

Supporting Online Materials (typically located at the end of the article).

The result deviates from that expected to arise by chance (from random variation or errors in sampling).

Any activity used to modify behavior, emotional state, or feelings.

The difference in test scores, course performance, and job prospects between people of different genders.

How course material is taught, such as through context-rich problems or curricular materials.

Perception, attention, learning, memory, and problem solving.

Based on a hypothesis that may have been supported in laboratory experiments, but has not yet been shown to work in practice.

Repeating a scientific experiment and finding the same results.

Interaction effects occur when the effect of one variable depends on another variable.

In this case, the effect of the intervention (values affirmation or control) depended on the student gender (male or female).

A specific branch of knowledge, such as physics or biology.

A z-score is a measure of the number of standard deviations above or below the average score a raw, individual score is. The higher the z-score, the more different a data point is from the average.

Continuous variables have an infinite number of possible values. This is in contrast to categorical variables, which have a discrete number of defined values (for example, in this study "man" or "woman" for gender).

Standard deviation, a measure of the amount of variation in data.

It can be used to quantify how far an individual's data is from the average of a data set.

A condition in which when the value of one variable goes up (endorsement of the gender stereotype), the value of the other variable goes down (exam scores).

A function defines one variable in terms of another. Here, the more strongly a woman in the control group endorsed the gender stereotype, the lower her exam scores were.

Defining y "as a function of" x means that y varies based on the level of x.

Chi-squared, a test which tells whether there is a statistically significant difference between the distribution of two categorical variables (for example, gender).

Refers to standard error, which is a measure of how far away the mean of your data is likely to be from the true mean of the population.

The P value is a measure of how likely it is that your null hypothesis (that values affirmation has no effect) is true.

Tools used to assess a subject's performance.

Assigned group, either the intervention group or the control group. In this case, the control group contained students who did not participate in the values affirmation intervention.

Effects that result from interactions within groups, and between both groups and individuals.

Participants are randomly assigned to different test conditions.

In this case, participants are equally likely to end up in the control group and the values affirmation test group.

In response to lack of food and increased populations, animals broaden the scope of species they interact with beyond their original interactions.

An animal that eats primarily fruit

When the behavior between species in one area differs from the behaviors between species in another location.

A new relationship or pattern of behavior between plants and animals.

Binary calculations are a straightforward form of measurement that states the presence or absence of an interaction.

Living parts of an ecosystem, in this case, invasive species on the island

A drug that blocks the binding of acetylcholine to its nicotinic receptors.

Formation of new neurons.

Referring to a case where the neurotransmitter and the receptors are present on the same cell. The released neurotransmitter binds to the receptor on the same cell.

A quantitative measurement of a neuron size, shape, or density.

Brain cells in a group of nerves found at the base of the skull. The nodose and petrosal neurons are part of the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves, respectively.

No change; unaltered.

These are receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.

Introduces a methyl (CH₃) group. Here, PNMT adds a CH₃ group onto norepinephrine creating epinephrine (also known as adrenaline).

Refers to the connections and interactions between the pituitary gland and adrenal glands. 

Situated in the tail part of the body.

Precursors.

Sodium channel blocker. It blocks the influx of sodium into the cell.

Act of flowing in.

Example: An influx of tourists was observed over the holidays.

Refers to the cell group that releases one of the neurotransmitters, dopamine or norepinephrine.

An enzyme responsible for the conversion of tyrosine (an amino acid) to dopamine, a neurotransmitter.

Refers to the measurement of quantities, a countable amount of something. For example: A baby weighs 7 pounds and 4 ounces.

Refers to the measurement of qualities, a describable trait of something. For example: The girl has brown eyes.

Here, referring to the physical characteristics of the neurons.

Widely accepted class of neurotransmitters.

Read more about the different neurotransmitters here.

A chemical that is released by brain cells called neurons. These chemicals aid in communication or passing messages between neurons.

Drug that increases the influx of sodium into the cell.

The ability to change.

For example, think of a caterpillar, which has the ability to change to butterfly.

Maintaining the body’s temperature within the normal limits.

Normal or minimum level.

Research that can be useful to prevent or treat disease

Relating to the growth of the individual.

Following.

The response prompted by cocaine.

Response prompted by nicotine.

Prone to; susceptible.

Treatment received prior to something in advance

Evaluate; measure.

Given.

Pushed; urged; required.

Reduced.

Outcome

Strengthening of synapses between neurons

before birth; during pregnancy

mimicked; acted similarly

only for a short time

normal

help; make the process easy

modified

signaling pathways that help in gene regulation

adding phosphate residues

happening at the same time

not enough acetylation

removal of acetyl groups

increase or excessive acetylation

DNA sequences that define where the transcription should start in a gene

restrain

prompt or trigger

drugs that cause an increased behavioral or motor response

widely used

a model designed to perform behavioral experiments

Process by which acetyl groups are added to preferred residues in a protein.

For instance, acetyl groups are added to lysine residues in a protein structure

components of chromatin that helps in gene regulation

DNA + histone

it is one of the transcription factors that help in gene expression

the process by which a copy of genetic information is made from DNA to RNA

A synapse is a space between the neurons that allows passage of electric or chemical signals between the neurons.

Anything that occurs between synapses is referred to as synaptic

the ability of the neurons (brain cells) to change and learn new things by changing their synaptic strength

Medium sized neurons that have dendritic branches

slowing down, hold back, restrain, negatively affecting a response

neurons that contain inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA

Part of the frontal cortex in the brain. Its function includes planning, organization, and decision making

A brain region present in the temporal lobe. It is almond In shape. It plays an important role in emotions.

Eg. When we see a lion, we immediately run due to fear. The fear response is due to the amygdala.

A brain region in the midbrain. Serves as a center for the origin of dopaminergic neurons

neurons that can modulate (or alter or modify) the neurotransmitter, glutamate. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter

neurons that contain neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine plays a vital role in the reward pathway