Glossary P

Pyramidal cells is a specific type of neuron that is found in all areas of the cerebral cortex. These cells have bodies that are pyramidal or conical in shape.

Pyramidal motor system the system that originates in the cerebral cortex and controls voluntary movement.

Pyromania refers to an Impulse-Control Disorder involving the persistent, compelling and irresistible urge to start or to set fires. It is also defined as a pattern of deliberate setting of fires for pleasure or satisfaction derived from the relief of tension experienced before the fire-setting.

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Pyrrho of Elis (ca. 360 - 270 B.C.) was the founder of Skepticism.

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Pythagoras (ca. 580–500 B.C.) is the Greek scholar who suggested that the brain is at the center of human reasoning and plays a central role in the "soul's life." Pythagoras believed that an abstract world consisting of numbers and numerical relationships exerted an influence on the physical world. He created a dualistic view of humans by saying that in addition to our body, we have a mind (soul), which through reasoning could understand the abstract world of numbers. Furthermore, he believed the human soul to be immortal. Pythagoras' philosophy had a major influence on Plato and, through Christianity, on the entire Western world.