Seizures: Abnormal activity of nerve cells in the brain causing
strange sensations, emotions, and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle
spasms, and loss of consciousness.
Sensory Cortex: The sensory cortex is situated in the cerebrum.
Different parts of the sensory cortex deal with the sensations experienced in
different parts of the body.
Shaken Baby Syndrome: A severe form of head injury that occurs when an
infant or small child is shaken forcibly enough to cause the brain to bounce
against the skull; the degree of brain damage depends on the extent and duration
of the shaking. Minor symptoms include irritability, lethargy, tremors, or
vomiting; major symptoms include seizures, coma, stupor, or death.
Shearing: The type of brain lesion often seen as a result of an abrupt
deceleration in movement, resulting in a continuation of brain movement within
the skull. Shearing lesions are recognized as tears in nerve fibers,
particularly of axons through the white matter.
Shunt: A devise to draw off excess fluid in the brain. A surgically
placed tube runs from the ventricles and deposits fluid into either, the
abdominal cavity, heart or large veins in the neck.
Soft Palate: A small flap of tissue that moves back and forth,
allowing air to come out through the nose or mouth; plays an important role in
speech. Damage to the brain can cause problems that prevent the soft palate from
moving. Difficulties with breathing and speaking are the result.
Spasticity: A condition which causes spasms or other uncontrolled
contractions of the skeletal muscles.
Stupor: A state of impaired consciousness in which the patient is
unresponsive but can be aroused briefly by a strong stimulus.
Subdural Hematoma: Bleeding between the dura membrane covering the
brain and the arachnoid membrane (the innermost layer).
