substantia nigra
1
8.1
- noun
- /səbˈstænʧə ˈnaɪɡrə/
- Specialized
:
sustancia negra
- The pigmented cells in the substantia nigra synapse with other cells located in the striatum, which are responsible for movement, balance, and walking.
- cells of the substantia nigra
- brain areas including substantia nigra
Examples
-
The pigmented cells in the substantia nigra synapse with other cells located in the striatum, which are responsible for movement, balance, and walking.
Academic text (2000) -
In Parkinson's disease, the substantia nigra neurons produce less dopamine than normal, for reasons that aren't yet clear.
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Messages are transmitted between the substantia nigra and the striatum by dopamine.
Academic text (2000) -
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates the substantia nigra and the striatum.
Academic text (2000) -
They implanted tungsten microwires into the substantia nigra and stimulated the area with 10 ms light pulses.
Blog text (3) -
The central pathology of PD is the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic cells of the substantia nigra of the basal ganglia.
Academic text (2011) -
I know nothing about the connectivity of the substantia nigra, but if you told me that the above raster plots were recorded from a neuron downstream of TH-ChR2 neurons, I would not argue with you.
Blog text (3) -
Parkinson's begins when cells in the substantia nigra, a structure deep in the brain, die off and stop producing dopamine.
Synonyms
A dark part in the middle of the brain that helps control movement
A layer of dark tissue in the middle of the brain that helps control movement
Surface Forms
Morphology
substantia + nigra
This is a Latin-derived technical anatomical term whose constituents are not English and would likely be unknown to an average B1 learner, so they could not reliably infer the full meaning. If a learner did recognise 'substantia' (substance) and 'nigra' (black), that would only hint at a 'dark/black substance' (pigmentation) but not the specific midbrain location or its role in movement, making the transparency partial.
Etymology
The noun substantia nigra comes from Latin: substantia means 'substance' and nigra means 'black', because this part of the brain looks dark. That dark area helps control movement, so when the substantia nigra is damaged people have movement problems like in 'Parkinson's disease'.