Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

cerebellum
The portion of the brain mainly responsible for balance and coordination.

amygdala
uh-MIG-duh-luh). A part of the brain that oversees emotions and triggers your response to danger.

Central nervous system Birth Defect
Neural tube defects, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly, Dandy-Walker malformation

brain tumor
An abnormal growth of tissue in the brain

Non-system-specific Birth Defect
Amniotic band sequence

NBDPS
National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Pfeiffer syndrome
Many of the characteristic facial features of Pfeiffer syndrome result from the premature fusion of the skull bones. The head is unable to grow normally, which leads to bulging and wide-set eyes, an underdeveloped upper jaw, and a beaked nose.

Muenke syndrome
The primary feature of this disease is prematurely fused skull bones along the coronal suture, the growth line which goes over the head from ear to ear. This can result in an abnormally shaped head, wide-set eyes, and flattened cheekbones.

SADDAN
SADDAN (severe achondroplasia with developmental delay and acanthosis nigricans) is a rare inherited disorder of bone growth characterized by skeletal, brain, and skin abnormalities.

CBDMP
California Birth Defects Monitoring Program