dedifferentiation
dee-dif-er-en-shee-AY-shun
Definition
A biological or neurological process in which specialized, distinct components or states lose their specific characteristics and become less clearly defined or more uniform.
Etymology
The word is formed from the prefix 'de-' (meaning reversal or removal) and 'differentiation,' which comes from the Latin 'differentia' (difference). It was first used in biological contexts to describe cells regressing to a simpler state before being applied to neurological processes.
In the news
In the article, the term describes a neural pattern where neighboring moments are represented less distinctly in the brain, potentially explaining why older adults perceive time as passing more quickly.
A year is 20% of a five-year-old's life but only 2% of a 50-year-old's — a simple mathematical fact that may help explain why years seem to accelerate as we age. Linguist Joanna Szadura argues that alongside changes in the aging brain, we may experience ti
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com