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midbrain

midbrain

2 5.5
The middle part of the brain that helps process sight and sound and control movement
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪdˌbreɪn/
  • Specialized
: mesencéfalo
  • In Gray's (1982) theoretical model, the amygdala, hypothalamus, and midbrain support aggressive and defensive behavior in response to frustration and form a fight/flight system.
  • midbrain and forebrain

So the home of dopamine neurons are in a part of the brain, sort of what we call the lower midbrain.

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Examples

  • The midbrain, hindbrain, spinal cord, and forebrain form the central nervous system.

    Blog text (29)
  • The primitive vertebrate brain is tripartite, consisting of the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.

    Academic text (2003)
  • I divide the midbrain into two main regions.

  • First, we have the midbrain, and that's involved in processes such as vision, hearing, eye movement, and body movement.

    Blog text (24)
  • It has to do with a chemical in the midbrain, or rather the lack of it, called dopamine.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Neural delay and coincidence circuits of just this kind have been found in the superior olive in the midbrain of cats.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As such, these effects may reflect changes in the activity of reward neurotransmitter systems in the midbrain and forebrain implicated in the positive reinforcing effects of drugs.

    Academic text (2009)
  • There is now good evidence that the superior olive—a processing center, or "nucleus," in the midbrain—is able to perform a cross-correlation operation on the signals in the two ears, as described in the box on page 27.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The nervous system progresses from a neural tube to the essential subdivisions of the brain into forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. During this time, the upper and lower limb buds also begin to appear.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The midbrain plays a crucial role in processing visual and auditory information.

Synonyms

mesencephalon
vsmidbrain
  • Specialized
1 9.9

The middle part of the brain that helps seeing, hearing and movement

means the same but is the common English name

Surface Forms

midbrain singular
midbrains plural

Morphology

midbrain = mid + brain (transparent) = mid + brain

The meaning is directly the 'middle' part of the 'brain' and follows straightforward compounding logic.

Etymology

Midbrain is made of the parts mid- ('middle') and brain, so the word literally names the brain area in the middle. That's why the midbrain is the central part that helps with seeing, hearing and movement.