brain stem
- noun
- /breɪn stɛm/
- Specialized
- So the fibers coming from your motor cortex go down to this part of the the brain stem, which is called the ventral ponds.
Some neurons in your brain stem send a signal back to the heart to slow the heart down.
- Some neurons in your brain stem send a signal back to the heart to slow the heart down.
- And that is designed to be the most sensitive part of your body because it connects to your brain stem, which is how you breathe.
- PHRENIC, The phrenic nerve that runs from the brain stem to this muscle we call the diaphragm.
- They can even hack into your brain stem and your the deep parts of your brain.
- When that happens, that's a sign that the brain stem is the last surviving operating part of your brain.
Examples
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Preliminary tests indicate the victim had a high concentration of serotonin in the brain stem.
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The 5 patients who died were over 60 years of age, and 3 had brain stem or cerebellar involvement on MRI.
Academic text (2013) -
And the first part of the brain that we enter is called the brain stem.
Blog text (24) -
The three parts of the brain stem and their functions
Blog text (24) -
This is the brain stem area right here, right before this, the spinal cord.
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Some neurons in your brain stem send a signal back to the heart to slow the heart down.
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In this video, Leslie explains the different parts of the brain stem and their respective functions.
Blog text (24) -
The cranial nerve stretches from the brain stem down to the stomach.
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At the same time, neurons in the hypothalamus and brain stem release a compound called GABA.
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The brain stem connects the spinal cord to the brain, playing a crucial role in regulating vital functions.
Synonyms
The part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord and controls breathing and heart rate
The part of the brain at the base that connects to the spinal cord and controls breathing and heart rate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'brain' (the organ) plus 'stem' (a trunk or main stalk) conveys the trunk-like part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord. This noun+noun pattern and the metaphor of a 'stem/trunk' for a central connecting structure is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Brain stem gets its name from a simple picture: like a plant stem, the stem is the small trunk that links the brain above to the body below. So the name fits because this part 'connects' the brain and spinal cord and 'controls' basic life actions like breathing and heartbeat.