Behavioral Definition Flash Cards

Front 1

abreaction

Back 1

A process by which repressed material, particularly a painful experience or a conflict, is brought back to consciousness; in this process, the person
not only recalls, but also relives the repressed material, which is accompanied by the appropriate affective response.

Front 2

abstract thinking

Back 2

Thinking characterized by the ability to grasp the essentials of a whole, to
break a whole into its parts, and to discern common properties. To think symbolically.

Front 3

abulia

Back 3

Reduced impulse to act and to think, associated with indifference about
consequences of action. Occurs as a result of neurological deficit,
depression, and schizophrenia

Front 4

acalculia

Back 4

Loss of ability to do calculations; not caused by anxiety or impairment in
concentration. Occurs with neurological deficit and learning disorder.

Front 5

acataphasia

Back 5

Disordered speech in which statements are incorrectly formulated.
Patients may express themselves with words that sound like the ones
intended, but are not appropriate to the thoughts, or they may use totally
inappropriate expressions

Front 6

acathexis

Back 6

Lack of feeling associated with an ordinarily emotionally charged subject;
in psychoanalysis, it denotes the patient's detaching or transferring of
emotion from thoughts and ideas. Also called decathexis. Occurs in anxiety, dissociative, schizophrenic, and bipolar disorders.

Front 7

acenesthesia

Back 7

loss of sensation of physical existence

Front 8

acrophobia

Back 8

dread of high places

Front 9

acting out

Back 9

behavioral response to an unconscious drive or impulse that brings about temporary partial relief of inner tension; relief is attained by reacting to the present situation as if it were the situation that originally gave rise to the drive or impulse. common in borderline states

Front 10

aculalia

Back 10

nonsense speech associated with marked impairment of comprehension. Occurs in mania, schizophrenia, and neurological deficit.

Front 11

adiadochokinesia

Back 11

Inability to perform rapid alternating movements. Occurs with
neurological deficit and cerebellar lesions

Front 12

adynamia

Back 12

Weakness and fatigability, characteristic of neurasthenia and depression.

Front 13

aerophagia

Back 13

Excessive swallowing of air. Seen in anxiety disorder

Front 14

affect

Back 14

The subjective and immediate experience of emotion attached to ideas or
mental representations of objects. Affect has outward manifestations that
can be classified as restricted, blunted, flattened, broad, labile,
appropriate, or inappropriate. see also mood.

Front 15

ageusia

Back 15

lack of impairment of the sense of taste. seen in depression and neurological deficit

Front 16

aggression

Back 16

forceful, goal-directed action that can be verbal or physical; the motor counterpart of the affect of rage, anger, or hostility. seen in neurological deficit, temporal lobe disorder, impulse-control disorders, mania, and schizophrenia

Front 17

agitation

Back 17

severe anxiety associated with motor restlessness

Front 18

agnosia

Back 18

Inability to understand the importance or significance of sensory stimuli;
cannot be explained by a defect in sensory pathways or cerebral lesion;
the term has also been used to refer to the selective loss or disuse of
knowledge of specific objects because of emotional circumstances, as seen
in certain schizophrenic, anxious, and depressed patients. Occurs with neurological deficit.

Front 19

agoraphobia

Back 19

Morbid fear of open places or leaving the familiar setting of the home. May be present with or without panic attacks

Front 20

agraphia

Back 20

Loss or impairment of a previously possessed ability to write

Front 21

ailurophobia

Back 21

dread of cats

Front 22

akathisia

Back 22

Subjective feeling of motor restlessness manifested by a compelling need to be in constant movement; may be seen as an extrapyramidal adverse effect of antipsychotic medication. May be mistaken for psychotic agitation.

Front 23

akanesia

Back 23

Lack of physical movement, as in the extreme immobility of catatonic schizophrenia; can also occur as an extrapyramidal effect of antipsychotic medication.

Front 24

akinetic mutism

Back 24

Absence of voluntary motor movement or speech in a patient who is apparently alert (as evidenced by eye movements). Seen in psychotic depression and catatonic states.

Front 25

alexia

Back 25

Loss of a previously possessed reading facility; not explained by defective visual acuity. Compare with Dyslexia.

Front 26

alexithyma

Back 26

Inability or difficulty in describing or being aware of one's emotions or moods; elaboration of fantasies associated with depression, substance abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Front 27

algophobia

Back 27

dread of pain

Front 28

alogia

Back 28

inability to speak because of mental deficiency or an episode of dimentia

Front 29

ambivalent

Back 29

Coexistence of two opposing impulses toward the same thing in the same person at the same time. Seen in schizophrenia, borderline states, and
obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs)

Front 30

amimia

Back 30

Lack of the ability to make gestures or to comprehend those made by others

Front 31

amnesia

Back 31

Partial or total inability to recall past experiences; may be organic (amnestic disorder) or emotional (dissociative amnesia) in origin.

Front 32

amnestic aphasia

Back 32

Disturbed capacity to name objects, even though they are known to the patient. Also called anomic aphasia

Front 33

anaclitic

Back 33

Depending on others, especially as the infant on the mother; anaclitic depression in children results from an absence of mothering

Front 34

analgesia

Back 34

State in which one feels little or no pain. Can occur under hypnosis and in dissociative disorder

Front 35

anancasm

Back 35

Repetitious or stereotyped behavior or thought usually used as a tension relieving
device; used as a synonym for obsession and seen in obsessive compulsive
(anankastic) personality

Front 36

aggression

Back 36

forceful, goal-directed action that can be verbal or physical; the motor counterpart of the affect of rage, anger, or hostility. seen in neurological deficit, temporal lobe disorder, impulse-control disorders, mania, and schizophrenia

Front 37

agitation

Back 37

severe anxiety associated with motor restlessness

Front 38

agnosia

Back 38

Inability to understand the importance or significance of sensory stimuli;
cannot be explained by a defect in sensory pathways or cerebral lesion;
the term has also been used to refer to the selective loss or disuse of
knowledge of specific objects because of emotional circumstances, as seen
in certain schizophrenic, anxious, and depressed patients. Occurs with neurological deficit.

Front 39

agoraphobia

Back 39

Morbid fear of open places or leaving the familiar setting of the home. May be present with or without panic attacks

Front 40

agraphia

Back 40

Loss or impairment of a previously possessed ability to write

Front 41

ailurophobia

Back 41

dread of cats

Front 42

akathisia

Back 42

Subjective feeling of motor restlessness manifested by a compelling need to be in constant movement; may be seen as an extrapyramidal adverse effect of antipsychotic medication. May be mistaken for psychotic agitation.

Front 43

akanesia

Back 43

Lack of physical movement, as in the extreme immobility of catatonic schizophrenia; can also occur as an extrapyramidal effect of antipsychotic medication.

Front 44

akinetic mutism

Back 44

Absence of voluntary motor movement or speech in a patient who is apparently alert (as evidenced by eye movements). Seen in psychotic depression and catatonic states.

Front 45

alexia

Back 45

Loss of a previously possessed reading facility; not explained by defective visual acuity. Compare with Dyslexia.

Front 46

androgyny

Back 46

Combination of culturally determined female and male characteristics in one person

Front 47

anergia

Back 47

lack of energy

Front 48

anhedonia

Back 48

Loss of interest in, and withdrawal from, all regular and pleasurable activities. Often associated with depression

Front 49

anomia

Back 49

inability to recall the name of objects

Front 50

anorexia

Back 50

Loss or decrease in appetite. In anorexia nervosa, appetite may be preserved, but the patient refuses to eat

Front 51

anosognosia

Back 51

Inability to recognize a physical deficit in oneself (e.g., patient denies
paralyzed limb)

Front 52

anterograde amnesia

Back 52

Loss of memory for events subsequent to the onset of the amnesia; common after trauma. Compare with retrograde amnesia

Front 53

anxiety

Back 53

feeling of apprehension caused by anticipation of danger, which may be internal or external

Front 54

apathy

Back 54

Dulled emotional tone associated with detachment or indifference; observed in certain types of schizophrenia and depression

Front 55

aphasia

Back 55

Any disturbance in the comprehension or expression of language caused by a brain lesion

Front 56

aphonia

Back 56

loss of voice. seen in conversion disorder

Front 57

apperception

Back 57

Awareness of the meaning and significance of a particular sensory stimulus as modified by one's own experiences, knowledge, thoughts, and emotions. See also perception

Front 58

appropriate affect

Back 58

Emotional tone in harmony with the accompanying idea, thought, or speech

Front 59

apraxia

Back 59

Inability to perform a voluntary purposeful motor activity; cannot be explained by paralysis or other motor or sensory impairment. In constructional apraxia, a patient cannot draw two- or three-dimensional forms

Front 60

astasia abasia

Back 60

Inability to stand or to walk in a normal manner, even though normal leg movements can be performed in a sitting or lying down position. Seen in conversion disorder

Front 61

astereognosis

Back 61

Inability to identify familiar objects by touch. Seen with neurological deficit. See also neurological amnesia

Front 62

asyndesis

Back 62

Disorder of language in which the patient combines unconnected ideas and images. Commonly seen in schizophrenia

Front 63

ataxia

Back 63

Lack of coordination, physical or mental. (1) In neurology, refers to loss
of muscular coordination. (2) In psychiatry, the term intrapsychic ataxia
refers to lack of coordination between feelings and thoughts; seen in schizophrenia and in severe OCD

Front 64

atonia

Back 64

lack of muscle tone

Front 65

attention

Back 65

Concentration; the aspect of consciousness that relates to the amount of effort exerted in focusing on certain aspects of an experience, activity, or task. Usually impaired in anxiety and depressive disorders

Front 66

auditory hallucination

Back 66

False perception of sound, usually voices, but also other noises, such as music. Most common hallucination in psychiatric disorders

Front 67

aura

Back 67

(1) Warning sensations, such as automatisms, fullness in the stomach, blushing, and changes in respiration; cognitive sensations, and mood states usually experienced before a seizure. (2) A sensory prodrome that precedes a classic migraine headache

Front 68

autistic thinking

Back 68

Thinking in which the thoughts are largely narcissistic and egocentric, with emphasis on subjectivity rather than objectivity, and without regard
for reality; used interchangeably with autism and dereism. Seen in
schizophrenia and autistic disorder

Front 69

behavior

Back 69

Sum total of the psyche that includes impulses, motivations, wishes, drives, instincts, and cravings, as expressed by a person's behavior or motor activity. Also called conation

Front 70

bereavement

Back 70

Feeling of grief or desolation, especially at the death or loss of a loved one

Front 71

bizarre delusion

Back 71

False belief that is patently absurd or fantastic (e.g., invaders from space
have implanted electrodes in a person's brain). Common in schizophrenia. In nonbizarre delusion, content is usually within the range of possibility

Front 72

blackout

Back 72

Amnesia experienced by alcoholics about behavior during drinking bouts; usually indicates reversible brain damage

Front 73

blocking

Back 73

Abrupt interruption in train of thinking before a thought or idea is finished; after a brief pause, the person indicates no recall of what was being said or was going to be said (also known as thought deprivation or increased thought latency). Common in schizophrenia and severe anxiety

Front 74

blunted affect

Back 74

Disturbance of affect manifested by a severe reduction in the intensity of
externalized feeling tone; one of the fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia, as outlined by Eugen Bleuler

Front 75

bradykinesia

Back 75

Slowness of motor activity, with a decrease in normal spontaneous movement

Front 76

bradylalia

Back 76

abnormally slow speech. common in depression

Front 77

bradylexia

Back 77

inability to read at normal speed

Front 78

bruxism

Back 78

Grinding or gnashing of the teeth, typically occurring during sleep. Seen in anxiety disorder

Front 79

carebaria

Back 79

Sensation of discomfort or pressure in the head

Front 80

catalepsy

Back 80

Condition in which persons maintain the body position into which they are
placed; observed in severe cases of catatonic schizophrenia. Also called
waxy flexibility and cerea flexibilitas. See also command automatism

Front 81

cataplexy

Back 81

Temporary sudden loss of muscle tone, causing weakness and immobilization; can be precipitated by a variety of emotional states and is often followed by sleep. Commonly seen in narcolepsy

Front 82

catatonic excitement

Back 82

Excited, uncontrolled motor activity seen in catatonic schizophrenia. Patients in catatonic state may suddenly erupt into an excited state and may be violent

Front 83

catatonic posturing

Back 83

Voluntary assumption of an inappropriate or bizarre posture, generally
maintained for long periods of time. May switch unexpectedly with catatonic excitement.

Front 84

catatonic rigidity

Back 84

fixed and sustained motoric position that is resistant to change.

Front 85

catatonic stupor

Back 85

stupor in which patient are ordinarily aware of their surroundings

Front 86

cathexis

Back 86

In psychoanalysis, a conscious or unconscious investment of psychic energy in an idea, concept, object, or person. Compare with acathexis

Front 87

causalgia

Back 87

burning pain that can be organic or psychic in origin

Front 88

cenesthesia

Back 88

change in the normal quality of feeling tone in a part of the body

Front 89

cephalagia

Back 89

headache

Front 90

cerea flexibilitas

Back 90

Condition of a person who can be molded into a position that is then maintained; when an examiner moves the person's limb, the limb feels as if it were made of wax. Also called catalepsy or waxy flexibility. Seen in schizophrenia

Front 91

chorea

Back 91

Movement disorder characterized by random and involuntary quick, jerky,
purposeless movements. Seen in Huntington's disease

Front 92

circumstantiality

Back 92

Disturbance in the associative thought and speech processes in which a patient digresses into unnecessary details and inappropriate thoughts before communicating the central idea. Observed in schizophrenia, obsessional disturbances, and certain cases of dementia. See also tangentiality

Front 93

clang association

Back 93

Association or speech directed by the sound of a word rather than by its
meaning; words have no logical connection; punning and rhyming may dominate the verbal behavior. Seen most frequently in schizophrenia or mania

Front 94

claustrophobia

Back 94

abnormal fear of closed or confined spaces

Front 95

clonic convulsion

Back 95

An involuntary, violent muscular contraction or spasm in which the muscles alternately contract and relax. Characteristic phase in grand mal epileptic seizure

Front 96

clouding of consciousness

Back 96

Any disturbance of consciousness in which the person is not fully awake, alert, and oriented. Occurs in delirium, dementia, and cognitive disorder

Front 97

cluttering

Back 97

Disturbance of fluency involving an abnormally rapid rate and erratic rhythm of speech that impedes intelligibility; the affected individual is usually unaware of communicative impairment.

Front 98

cognition

Back 98

mental function of knowing and becoming aware; function is closely associated with judgement

Front 99

coma

Back 99

State of profound unconsciousness from which a person cannot be roused,
with minimal or no detectable responsiveness to stimuli; seen in injury or disease of the brain, in systemic conditions, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and uremia; and in intoxications with alcohol and other drugs. Coma can also occur in severe catatonic states and in conversion disorder

Front 100

coma vigil

Back 100

Coma in which a patient appears to be asleep, but can be aroused (also known as akinetic mutism)

Front 101

command automatism

Back 101

Condition associated with catalepsy in which suggestions are followed
automatically

Front 102

command hallucination

Back 102

False perception of orders that a person may feel obliged to obey or unable to resist

Front 103

complex

Back 103

a feeling-tone idea

Front 104

complex partial seizure

Back 104

A seizure characterized by alterations in consciousness that may be accompanied by complex hallucinations (sometimes olfactory) or illusions. During the seizure, a state of impaired consciousness resembling a dream-like state may occur, and the patient may exhibit repetitive, automatic, or semipurposeful behavior.

Front 105

compulsion

Back 105

Pathological need to act on an impulse that, if resisted, produces anxiety; repetitive behavior in response to an obsession or performed according to certain rules, with no true end in itself other than to prevent something from occurring in the future

Front 106

conation

Back 106

that part of a person's mental life concerned with cravings, strivings, motivations, drives, and wishes as expressed through motor behavior or motor activity.

Front 107

concrete thinking

Back 107

thinking characterized by actual things, events and immediate experience, rather than by abstractions; seen in young children, in those who have lost or never developed the ability to generalize (as in certain cognitive mental disorders), and schizophrenic persons.

Front 108

condensation

Back 108

Mental process in which one symbol stands for a number of components

Front 109

confabulation

Back 109

Unconscious filling of gaps in memory by imagining experiences or events that have no basis in fact, commonly seen in amnestic syndromes; should be differentiated from lying. See also paramnesia

Front 110

confusion

Back 110

Disturbances of consciousness manifested by a disordered orientation in
relation to time, place, or person

Front 111

consciousness

Back 111

State of awareness, with response to external stimuli

Front 112

constipation

Back 112

Inability to defecate or difficulty in defecating

Front 113

constricted affect

Back 113

Reduction in intensity of feeling tone that is less severe than that of blunted affect

Front 114

constructional apraxia

Back 114

Inability to copy a drawing, such as a cube, clock, or pentagon, as a result of a brain lesion

Front 115

conversion phenomena

Back 115

The development of symbolic physical symptoms and distortions involving the voluntary muscles or special sense organs; not under voluntary control and not explained by any physical disorder. Most common in conversion disorder, but also seen in a variety of mental disorders

Front 116

convulsion

Back 116

An involuntary, violent muscular contraction or spasm. See also clonic
convulsion and tonic convulsion

Front 117

coprolalia

Back 117

Involuntary use of vulgar or obscene language. Observed in some cases of
schizophrenia and in Tourette's syndrome

Front 118

coprophagia

Back 118

eating of filth or faeces

Front 119

cryptographia

Back 119

a private written word

Front 120

cryptolalia

Back 120

a private spoken word

Front 121

cycloplegia

Back 121

Paralysis of the muscles of accommodation in the eye; observed, at times,
as an autonomic adverse effect (anticholinergic effect) of antipsychotic or antidepressant medication

Front 122

decompensation

Back 122

Deterioration of psychic functioning caused by a breakdown of defense
mechanisms. Seen in psychotic states

Front 123

daja entundo

Back 123

illusion that what one is hearing one has heard previously

Front 124

daja pensa

Back 124

Condition in which a thought never entertained before is incorrectly regarded as a repetition of a previous thought

Front 125

daja vu

Back 125

Illusion of visual recognition in which a new situation is incorrectly regarded as a repetition of a previous experience

Front 126

delirium

Back 126

Acute reversible mental disorder characterized by confusion and some
impairment of consciousness; generally associated with emotional lability,
hallucinations or illusions, and inappropriate, impulsive, irrational, or violent behavior

Front 127

delirium tremens

Back 127

Acute and sometimes fatal reaction to withdrawal from alcohol, usually
occurring 72 to 96 hours after the cessation of heavy drinking; distinctive
characteristics are marked autonomic hyperactivity (tachycardia, fever,
hyperhidrosis, and dilated pupils), usually accompanied by tremulousness,
hallucinations, illusions, and delusions. Called alcohol withdrawal delirium
in DSM-IV-TR. See also formication

Front 128

delusion

Back 128

false belief, based on incorrect interference about external reality, that is firmly held despite objective and obvious contraditory proof or evidence and despite the fact that other members of the culture do not share the same belief

Front 129

delusion of control

Back 129

False belief that a person's will, thoughts, or feelings are being controlled by external forces

Front 130

delusion grandeur

Back 130

Exaggerated conception of one's importance, power, or identity

Front 131

delusion of infidelity

Back 131

False belief that one's lover is unfaithful. Sometimes called pathological jealousy

Front 132

delusion of persecution

Back 132

False belief of being harassed or persecuted; often found in litigious patients who have a pathological tendency to take legal action because of
imagined mistreatment. Most common delusion

Front 133

delusion of poverty

Back 133

False belief that one is bereft or will be deprived of all material possessions

Front 134

delusion of reference

Back 134

False belief that the behavior of others refers to oneself or that events, objects, or other people have a particular and unusual significance, usually of a negative nature; derived from idea of reference, in which persons falsely feel that others are talking about them (e.g., belief that
people on television or radio are talking to or about the person). See also thought broadcasting

Front 135

delusion of self-accusation

Back 135

false feeling of remorse and guilt. seen in depression with psychotic features.

Front 136

dementia

Back 136

Mental disorder characterized by general impairment in intellectual functioning without clouding of consciousness; characterized by failing
memory, difficulty with calculations, distractibility, alterations in mood and affect, impaired judgment and abstraction, reduced facility with language, and disturbance of orientation. Although irreversible because of underlying progressive degenerative brain disease, dementia may be reversible if the cause can be treated

Front 137

denial

Back 137

defense mechanism in which the existence of an unpleasant realities is disavowed; refers to keeping out of conscious awareness any aspects of external reality that, if acknowledged, would produce anxiety

Front 138

depersonalization

Back 138

Sensation of unreality concerning oneself, parts of oneself, or one's environment that occurs under extreme stress or fatigue. Seen in
schizophrenia, depersonalization disorder, and schizotypal personality
disorder

Front 139

depression

Back 139

Mental state characterized by feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair, low
self-esteem, and self-reproach; accompanying signs include psychomotor
retardation or, at times, agitation, withdrawal from interpersonal contact,
and vegetative symptoms, such as insomnia and anorexia. The term refers
to a mood that is so characterized or to a mood disorder

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derailment

Back 140

Gradual or sudden deviation in train of thought without blocking; sometimes used synonymously with loosening of association

Front 141

derealization

Back 141

Sensation of changed reality or that one's surroundings have altered. Usually seen in schizophrenia, panic attacks, and dissociative disorders

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dereism

Back 142

Mental activity that follows a totally subjective and idiosyncratic system of
logic and fails to take the facts of reality or experience into consideration. Characteristic of schizophrenia. See also autistic thinking

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detachment

Back 143

Characterized by distant interpersonal relationships and lack of emotional involvement.

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devaluation

Back 144

Defense mechanism in which a person attributes excessively negative
qualities to self or others. Seen in depression and paranoid personality
disorder

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diminished libido

Back 145

Decreased sexual interest and drive. (Increased libido is often associated with mania.)

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dipsomania

Back 146

Compulsion to drink alcoholic beverages

Front 147

disinhibition

Back 147

removal of an inhibitory effect, as in the reduction of the inhibitory function of the cerebral cortex by alcohol. In psychiatry, a greater freedom to act in accordance with inner drives or feelings and with less regard for restraints dictated by cultural norms or one's superego

Front 148

disorientation

Back 148

confusion; impairment of awareness of time, place, and person (the position of the self in relation to other persons). Characteristic of cognitive disorders.

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displacement

Back 149

unconscious defense mechanism by which the emotional component of an unacceptable idea or object is transferred to a more acceptable one. Seen in phobias.

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dissociation

Back 150

Unconscious defense mechanism involving the segregation of any group of
mental or behavioral processes from the rest of the person's psychic activity; may entail the separation of an idea from its accompanying emotional tone, as seen in dissociative and conversion disorders. Seen in dissociative disorders

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distractibility

Back 151

Inability to focus one's attention; the patient does not respond to the task at hand but attends to irrelevant phenomena in the environment

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dread

Back 152

massive or pervasive anxiety, usually related to a specific danger

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dreamy state

Back 153

Altered state of consciousness, likened to a dream situation, which develops suddenly and usually lasts a few minutes; accompanied by visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations. Commonly associated with temporal lobe lesions

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drowsiness

Back 154

State of impaired awareness associated with a desire or inclination to sleep

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dysarthria

Back 155

Difficulty in articulation, the motor activity of shaping phonated sounds into speech, not in word finding or in grammar

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dyscalculia

Back 156

Difficulty in performing calculations.

Front 157

dysgeusia

Back 157

impaired sense of taste

Front 158

dysgraphia

Back 158

difficulty in writing

Front 159

dyskinesia

Back 159

difficulty in performing movement. seen in extrapyramidal disorders

Front 160

dyslalia

Back 160

Faulty articulation caused by structural abnormalities of the articulatory organs or impaired hearing

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dyslexia

Back 161

Specific learning disability syndrome involving an impairment of the previously acquired ability to read; unrelated to the person's intelligence. Compare with alexia.

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dysmetria

Back 162

Impaired ability to gauge distance relative to movements. Seen in
neurological deficit

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dysmnesia

Back 163

impairment of memory

Front 164

dyspareunia

Back 164

Physical pain in sexual intercourse, usually emotionally caused and more
commonly experienced by women; can also result from cystitis, urethritis, or other medical conditions

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dysphagia

Back 165

difficulty in swallowing

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dysphasia

Back 166

Difficulty in comprehending oral language (reception dysphasia) or in trying to express verbal language (expressive dysphasia)

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dysphonia

Back 167

difficulty or pain in speaking

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dysphoria

Back 168

feeling of unpleasantness or discomfort; a mood of general dissatisfaction and restlessness. occurs in depression and anxiety.

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dysprosody

Back 169

Loss of normal speech melody (prosody). Common in depression

Front 170

dystonia

Back 170

Extrapyramidal motor disturbance consisting of slow, sustained
contractions of the axial or appendicular musculature; one movement often predominates, leading to relatively sustained postural deviations;

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echolalia

Back 171

Psychopathological repeating of words or phrases of one person by another; tends to be repetitive and persistent. Seen in certain kinds of schizophrenia, particularly the catatonic types

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ego-alien

Back 172

Denoting aspects of a person's personality that are viewed as repugnant,
unacceptable, or inconsistent with the rest of the personality. Also called
ego-dystonia. Compare with ego-syntonic.

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egocentric

Back 173

Self-centered; selfishly preoccupied with one's own needs; lacking
interest in others

Front 174

egomania

Back 174

morbid self-preoccupation or self-centeredness. see also narcissism

Front 175

ego-syntonic

Back 175

Denoting aspects of a personality that are viewed as acceptable and consistent with that person's total personality. Personality traits are usually ego-syntonic. Compare with ego-alien

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eidetic image

Back 176

Unusually vivid or exact mental image of objects previously seen or imagined

Front 177

elation

Back 177

Mood consisting of feelings of joy, euphoria, triumph, and intense selfsatisfaction
or optimism. Occurs in mania when not grounded in reality

Front 178

elevated mood

Back 178

Air of confidence and enjoyment; a mood more cheerful than normal but
not necessarily pathological

Front 179

emotion

Back 179

Complex feeling state with psychic, somatic, and behavioral components;
external manifestation of emotion is affect

Front 180

emotional insight

Back 180

A level of understanding or awareness that one has emotional problems.It facilitates positive changes in personality and behavior when present

Front 181

emotional lability

Back 181

Excessive emotional responsiveness characterized by unstable and rapidly
changing emotions

Front 182

encopresis

Back 182

involuntary passage of feces, usually occurring at night or during sleep

Front 183

enuresis

Back 183

incontinence of urine during sleep

Front 184

erotomania

Back 184

Delusional belief, more common in women than in men, that someone is deeply in love with them (also known as de Clérambault syndrome)

Front 185

erythrophobia

Back 185

abnormal fear of blushing

Front 186

euphoria

Back 186

Exaggerated feeling of well-being that is inappropriate to real events. Can occur with drugs such as opiates, amphetamines, and alcohol

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euthymia

Back 187

Normal range of mood, implying absence of depressed or elevated mood

Front 188

evasion

Back 188

Act of not facing up to, or strategically eluding, something; consists of
suppressing an idea that is next in a thought series and replacing it with another idea closely related to it. Also called paralogia and perverted logic

Front 189

exaltation

Back 189

feeling of intense elation and grandeur

Front 190

excited

Back 190

Agitated, purposeless motor activity uninfluenced by external stimuli

Front 191

expansion mood

Back 191

Expression of feelings without restraint, frequently with an overestimation of their significance or importance. Seen in mania and grandiose delusional disorder

Front 192

expressive aphasia

Back 192

Disturbance of speech in which understanding remains, but ability to speak is grossly impaired; halting, laborious, and inaccurate speech (also
known as Broca's, nonfluent, and motor aphasias)

Front 193

expressive dysphasia

Back 193

difficult in expressive language; the ability to understand language is intact

Front 194

externalization

Back 194

More general term than projection that refers to the tendency to perceive in the external world and in external objects elements of one's own
personality, including instinctual impulses, conflicts, moods, attitudes,
and styles of thinking

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extroversion

Back 195

State of one's energies being directed outside oneself. Compare with introversion

Front 196

false memory

Back 196

A person's recollection and belief of an event that did not actually occur. In false memory syndrome, persons erroneously believe that they sustained an emotional or physical (e.g., sexual) trauma in early life

Front 197

fantasy

Back 197

Daydream; fabricated mental picture of a situation or chain of events. A normal form of thinking dominated by unconsciousness material that
seeks wish fulfillment and solutions to conflicts; may serve as the matrix for creativity. The content of the fantasy may indicate mental illness

Front 198

fatigue

Back 198

A feeling of weariness, sleepiness, or irritability after a period of mental or bodily activity. Seen in depression, anxiety, neurasthenia, and somatoform disorders

Front 199

fausse reconnaissance

Back 199

False recognition, a feature of paramnesia. Can occur in delusional disorders

Front 200

fear

Back 200

Unpleasurable emotional state consisting of psychophysiological changes
in response to a realistic threat or danger. Compare with anxiety

Front 201

flat affect

Back 201

Absence or near absence of any signs of affective expression

Front 202

flight of ideas

Back 202

Rapid succession of fragmentary thoughts or speech in which content
changes abruptly and speech may be incoherent. Seen in mania

Front 203

floccillation

Back 203

Aimless plucking or picking, usually at bedclothes or clothing, commonly seen in dementia and delirium

Front 204

fluent aphasia

Back 204

Aphasia characterized by inability to understand the spoken word; fluent
but incoherent speech is present. Also called Wernicke's, sensory, and
receptive aphasias

Front 205

folie A deux

Back 205

Mental illness shared by two persons, usually involving a common delusional system; if it involves three persons, it is referred to as folie à trois, and so on. Also called shared psychotic disorder

Front 206

formal thought disorder

Back 206

Disturbance in the form rather than the content of thought; thinking characterized by loosened associations, neologisms, and illogical constructs; thought process is disordered, and the person is defined as psychotic. Characteristic of schizophrenia

Front 207

formication

Back 207

Tactile hallucination involving the sensation that tiny insects are crawling over the skin. Seen in cocaine addiction and delirium tremens

Front 208

free-floating anxiety

Back 208

Severe, pervasive, generalized anxiety that is not attached to any particular idea, object, or event. Observed particularly in anxiety disorders, although it may be seen in some cases of schizophrenia

Front 209

fugue

Back 209

Dissociative disorder characterized by a period of almost complete amnesia, during which a person actually flees from an immediate life situation and begins a different life pattern; apart from the amnesia, mental faculties and skills are usually unimpaired

Front 210

galactorrhea

Back 210

Abnormal discharge of milk from the breast; may result from the endocrine influence (e.g., prolactin) of dopamine receptor antagonists, such as phenothiazines

Front 211

generalized tonic-clonic seizure

Back 211

Generalized onset of tonic-clonic movements of the limbs, tongue-biting, and incontinence followed by slow, gradual recovery of consciousness and cognition; also called grand mal seizure

Front 212

global aphasia

Back 212

combination of grossly non fluent aphasia and severe fluent aphasia

Front 213

glossolalia

Back 213

Unintelligible jargon that has meaning to the speaker but not to the listener. Occurs in schizophrenia

Front 214

grandiosity

Back 214

exaggerated feeling of one's importance, power,knowledge, or identity. occurs in delusional disorder and manic states.

Front 215

grief

Back 215

Alteration in mood and affect consisting of sadness appropriate to a real loss; normally, it is self-limited. See also depression and mourning

Front 216

guilt

Back 216

Emotional state associated with self-reproach and the need for punishment. In psychoanalysis, refers to a feeling of culpability that
stems from a conflict between the ego and the superego (conscience). Guilt has normal psychological and social functions, but special intensity or absence of guilt characterizes many mental disorders, such as depression and antisocial personality disorder, respectively. Psychiatrists distinguish shame as a less internalized form of guilt that relates more to others than to the self. See also shame

Front 217

gustatory hallucination

Back 217

hallucination primarily involving taste

Front 218

gynecomastia

Back 218

Female-like development of the male breasts; can occur as an adverse effect of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs because of increased prolactin levels or anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse

Front 219

hallucination

Back 219

False sensory perception occurring in the absence of any relevant external stimulation of the sensory modality involved. For types of hallucinations, see the specific term

Front 220

hallucinosis

Back 220

State in which a person experiences hallucinations without any impairment of consciousness

Front 221

haptic hallucination

Back 221

hallucination of touch

Front 222

hebephrenia

Back 222

Complex of symptoms, considered a form of schizophrenia, characterized
by wild or silly behavior or mannerisms, inappropriate affect, and delusions and hallucinations that are transient and unsystematized.
Hebephrenic schizophrenia is now called disorganized schizophrenia

Front 223

holophrastic

Back 223

Using a single word to express a combination of ideas. Seen in schizophrenia

Front 224

hyperactivity

Back 224

Increased muscular activity. The term is commonly used to describe a disturbance found in children that is manifested by constant restlessness,
overactivity, distractibility, and difficulties in learning. Seen in attentiondeficit/
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Front 225

hyperalgesia

Back 225

excessive sensitivity to pain. seen in somatoform disorder

Front 226

hyperesthesia

Back 226

increased sensitivity to tactile stimulation

Front 227

hypermnesia

Back 227

Exaggerated degree of retention and recall. It can be elicited by hypnosis
and may be seen in certain prodigies; also can be a feature of OCD, some cases of schizophrenia, and manic episodes of bipolar I disorder

Front 228

hyperphagia

Back 228

increase in apetite to intake food

Front 229

hyperpragia

Back 229

Excessive thinking and mental activity. Generally associated with manic episodes of bipolar I disorder

Front 230

hypersomnia

Back 230

Excessive time spent asleep. Can be associated with underlying medical or psychiatric disorder or narcolepsy, can be part of the Kleine-Levin syndrome, or may be primary

Front 231

hyperventilation

Back 231

Excessive breathing, generally associated with anxiety, which can reduce blood carbon dioxide concentration and can produce lightheadedness,
palpitations, numbness, tingling periorally and in the extremities, and,occasionally, syncope

Front 232

hypervigilant

Back 232

Excessive attention to, and focus on, all internal and external stimuli; usually seen in delusional or paranoid states

Front 233

hypesthesia

Back 233

diminished sensitivity to tactile stimulation

Front 234

hypnagogic hallucination

Back 234

Hallucination occurring while falling asleep, not ordinarily considered pathological

Front 235

hypnopompic hallucination

Back 235

Hallucination occurring while awakening from sleep, not ordinarily considered pathological

Front 236

hypnosis

Back 236

Artificially induced alteration of consciousness characterized by increased suggestibility and receptivity to direction

Front 237

hypoactivity

Back 237

Decreased motor and cognitive activity, as in psychomotor retardation;
visible slowing of thought, speech, and movements. Also called hypokinesis

Front 238

hypochondria

Back 238

Exaggerated concern about health that is based not on real medical pathology, but on unrealistic interpretations of physical signs or sensations as abnormal

Front 239

hypomania

Back 239

Mood abnormality with the qualitative characteristics of mania, but somewhat less intense. Seen in cyclothymic disorder

Front 240

idea of reference

Back 240

Misinterpretation of incidents and events in the outside world as having
direct personal reference to oneself; occasionally observed in normal persons, but frequently seen in paranoid patients. If present with sufficient frequency or intensity or if organized and systematized, they constitute delusions of reference

Front 241

illogical thinking

Back 241

Thinking containing erroneous conclusions or internal contradictions;
psychopathological only when it is marked and not caused by cultural values or intellectual deficit

Front 242

illusion

Back 242

Perceptual misinterpretation of a real external stimulus. Compare with
hallucination

Front 243

immediate memory

Back 243

Reproduction, recognition, or recall of perceived material within seconds after presentation. Compare with long-term memory and short-term memory

Front 244

impaired insight

Back 244

Diminished ability to understand the objective reality of a situation

Front 245

impaired judgement

Back 245

Diminished ability to understand a situation correctly and to act appropriately

Front 246

impulse control

Back 246

Ability to resist an impulse, drive, or temptation to perform some action

Front 247

inappropriate affect

Back 247

Emotional tone out of harmony with the idea, thought, or speech
accompanying it. Seen in schizophrenia

Front 248

incoherence

Back 248

Communication that is disconnected, disorganized, or incomprehensible.
See also word salad

Front 249

incorporation

Back 249

Primitive unconscious defense mechanism in which the psychic
representation of another person or aspects of another person are
assimilated into oneself through a figurative process of symbolic oral
ingestion; represents a special form of introjection and is the earliest mechanism of identification

Front 250

increased liibido

Back 250

Increase in sexual interest and drive

Front 251

ineffability

Back 251

Ecstatic state in which persons insist that their experience is inexpressible and indescribable and that it is impossible to convey what it
is like to one who has never experienced it

Front 252

initial insomnia

Back 252

Falling asleep with difficulty; usually seen in anxiety disorder. Compare with middle insomnia and terminal insomnia

Front 253

insight

Back 253

Conscious recognition of one's own condition. In psychiatry, it refers to the conscious awareness and understanding of one's own psychodynamics and symptoms of maladaptive behavior; highly important in effecting changes in the personality and behavior of a person

Front 254

insomnia

Back 254

difficulty in falling alseep or difficulty in staying alseep. It can be related to a mental disorder, or an adverse effect of medication; or it can be primary (not related to a known medical factor or another mental disorder).

Front 255

intellectual insight

Back 255

Knowledge of the reality of a situation without the ability to use that knowledge successfully to effect an adaptive change in behavior or to master the situation. compare with true insight

Front 256

intelligence

Back 256

Capacity for learning and ability to recall, integrate constructively, and apply what one has learned; the capacity to understand and to think rationally

Front 257

intoxication

Back 257

Mental disorder caused by recent ingestion or presence in the body of an exogenous substance producing maladaptive behavior by virtue of its effects on the central nervous system (CNS). The most common psychiatric changes involve disturbances of perception, wakefulness, attention, thinking, judgment, emotional control, and psychomotor behavior; the specific clinical picture depends on the substance ingested

Front 258

intropunitive

Back 258

Turning anger inward toward oneself. Commonly observed in depressed patients

Front 259

introspection

Back 259

contemplating one's own mental processes to acheive insight.

Front 260

introversion

Back 260

State in which a person's energies are directed inward toward the self, with little or no interest in the external world

Front 261

irrelevant answer

Back 261

answer that is not responsive to the question

Front 262

irritability

Back 262

Abnormal or excessive excitability, with easily triggered anger, annoyance, or impatience

Front 263

irritable mood

Back 263

State in which one is easily annoyed and provoked to anger. See also irritability

Front 264

jamais vu

Back 264

Paramnestic phenomenon characterized by a false feeling of unfamiliarity with a real situation that one has previously experienced

Front 265

jargon aphasia

Back 265

Aphasia in which the words produced are neologistic; that is, nonsense words created by the patient

Front 266

judgement

Back 266

mental act of comparing or evaluating choices within the framework of a given set of values for the purpose of electing a course of action. If the course of action chosen is consonant with reality or with the mature adult standards of behavior, judgment is said to be intact or normal; judgement is said to be impaired if the chosen course of action is frankly maladaptive, results from impulsive decisions based on the need for immediate gratification, or is otherwise not consistent with reality as measured by mature adult standards

Front 267

kleptomania

Back 267

pathologial compulsion to steal

Front 268

la belle indiffA(C)rence

Back 268

Inappropriate attitude of calm or lack of concern about one's disability. May be seen in patients with conversion disorder

Front 269

labile affect

Back 269

Affective expression characterized by rapid and abrupt changes, unrelated
to external stimuli

Front 270

labile mood

Back 270

Oscillations in mood between euphoria and depression or anxiety

Front 271

laconic speech

Back 271

Condition characterized by a reduction in the quantity of spontaneous speech; replies to questions are brief and unelaborated, and little or no
unprompted additional information is provided. Occurs in major depression, schizophrenia, and organic mental disorders. Also called poverty of speech

Front 272

lethologica

Back 272

Momentary forgetting of a name or proper noun. See blocking.

Front 273

lilliputian hallucination

Back 273

Visual sensation that persons or objects are reduced in size; more properly regarded as an illusion. See also micropsia

Front 274

localiized amnesia

Back 274

Partial loss of memory; amnesia restricted to specific or isolated experiences. Also called lacunar amnesia and patch amnesia

Front 275

logorrhea

Back 275

Copious, pressured, coherent speech; uncontrollable, excessive talking;
observed in manic episodes of bipolar disorder. Also called tachylogia, verbomania, and volubility

Front 276

long-term memory

Back 276

reproduction, recognition, or recall of experiences or information that was experienced in the distant past. Also called remote memory. Compare with immediate memory or short-term memory

Front 277

loosening of associations

Back 277

Characteristic schizophrenic thinking or speech disturbance involving a disorder in the logical progression of thoughts, maniifested as a failure to communicate verbally adequately; unrelated and unconnected ideas shift from one subject to another. See also tangentality

Front 278

macropsia

Back 278

false perception that objects are larger than they really are

Front 279

magical thinking

Back 279

A form of dereistic thought; thinking similar to that of the preoperational phase in children (Jean Piaget), in which thoughts, words, or actions assume power (e.g., to cause or to prevent events)

Front 280

malingering

Back 280

Feigning disease to achieve a specific goal, for example, to avoid an unpleasant responsibility

Front 281

mania

Back 281

Mood state characterized by elation, agitation, hyperactivity,
hypersexuality, and accelerated thinking and speaking (flight of ideas).
Seen in bipolar I disorder. See also hypomania

Front 282

manipulation

Back 282

Maneuvering by patients to get their own way; characteristic of antisocial
personalities

Front 283

mannerism

Back 283

ingrained, habitual involuntary movement

Front 284

melancholia

Back 284

sever depressive state. used in the term involutional melancholia as a descriptive term and also in reference to a distinct diagnostic entity.

Front 285

memory

Back 285

process whereby what is experienced or learned is estaablished as a record in the CNS (registration), where it persists with a variable degree of permanence (retention) and can be recollected or retrieved from storage at will (recall).

Front 286

mental disorder

Back 286

Psychiatric illness or disease whose manifestations are primarily characterized by behavioral or psychological impairment of function, measured in terms of deviation from some normative concept; associated with distress or disease, not just an expected response to a particular event or limited relations between a person and society

Front 287

mental retardation

Back 287

Subaverage general intellectual functioning that originates in the developmental period and is associated with impaired maturation and
learning, and social maladjustment. Retardation is commonly defined in
terms of intelligent quotient (IQ): mild (between 50 and 55 to 70), moderate (between 35 and 40 to between 50 and 55), severe (between 20 and 25 to between 35 and 40), and profound (below 20 to 25)

Front 288

metonymy

Back 288

Speech disturbance common in schizophrenia in which the affected person uses a word or phrase that is related to the proper one but is not the one ordinarily used; for example, the patient speaks of consuming a menu rather than a meal, or refers to losing the piece of string of the
conversation, rather than the thread of the conversation. See also paraphasia and word approximation

Front 289

microcephaly

Back 289

condition in which the head is unusually small as a result of defective brain development and premature ossification of the skull

Front 290

micropsia

Back 290

false perception that obects are smaller than they rally are. sometimes called lilliputian hallucination

Front 291

middle insomnia

Back 291

waking up after falling asleep without difficulty and then having difficulty in falling asleep again. Compare with initial insomnia and terminal insomnia

Front 292

mimicry

Back 292

simple, imitative motion activity of childhood

Front 293

monomania

Back 293

mental state characterized by preoccupation with one subject

Front 294

mood

Back 294

pervasive and sustained feeling tone that is experienced internally and that, in the extreme, can markedly influence virtually all aspects of a person's behavior and perception of the world. Distinguished from affect, the external expression of the internal feeling tone

Front 295

mood-congruent delusion

Back 295

Delusion with content that is mood appropriate (e.g., depressed patients who believe that they are responsible for the destruction of the world)

Front 296

mood-congruent hallucination

Back 296

Hallucination with content that is consistent with a depressed or manic mood (e.g., depressed patients hearing voices telling them that they are bad persons and manic patients hearing voices telling them that they have inflated worth, power, or knowledge)

Front 297

mood-incongruent delusion

Back 297

Delusion based on incorrect reference about external reality, with content that has no association to mood or is mood inappropriate (e.g., depressed patients who believe that they are the new Messiah)

Front 298

mood-incongruent hallucination

Back 298

Hallucination not associated with real external stimuli, with content that is not consistent with depressed or manic mood (e.g., in depression, hallucinations not involving such themes as guilt, deserved punishement, or inadequacy; in mania, not involving such themes as inflated worth or power)

Front 299

mood swings

Back 299

Oscillation of a person's emotional feeling tone between periods of elation
and periods of depression

Front 300

motor aphasia

Back 300

aphasia in which understanding is intact, but the ability to speak is lost. Also called Broca's, expressive, or nonfluent aphasias.

Front 301

mourning

Back 301

syndrome following loss of a loved one, consisting of a preoccupation with the lost individual, weeping, sadness, and repeated reliving of memories. See also bereavement and grief.

Front 302

muscle rigidity

Back 302

state in which the muscles remain immovable; seen in schizophrenia

Front 303

mutism

Back 303

organic or functional absence of the faculty of speech. See also stupor

Front 304

mydriasis

Back 304

dilation of the pupil; sometimes occurs as an autonomic (anticholinergic) or atropine-like adverse effect of some antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs

Front 305

narcissism

Back 305

In psychoanalytic theory, divided into primary and secondary types: primary narcissism, the early infantile phase of object relationship
development, when the child has not differentiated the self from the outside world, and all sources of pleasure are unrealistically recognized as coming from within the self, giving the child a false sense of omnipotence; secondary narcissism, when the libido, once attached to external love objects, is redirected back to the self.

Front 306

needle phobia

Back 306

The persistent, intense, pathological fear of receiving an injection

Front 307

negative signs

Back 307

In schizophrenia: flat affect, alogia, abulia, and apathy

Front 308

negativism

Back 308

Verbal or nonverbal opposition or resistance to outside suggestions and advice; commonly seen in catatonic schizophrenia in which the patient resists any effort to be moved or does the opposite of what is asked

Front 309

neologism

Back 309

New word or phrase whose derivation cannot be understood; often seen in
schizophrenia. It has also been used to mean a word that has been incorrectly constructed but whose origins are nonetheless understandable
(e.g., headshoe to mean hat), but such constructions are more properly referred to as word approximations

Front 310

neurological amnesia

Back 310

(1) Auditory amnesia: loss of ability to comprehend sounds or speech. (2) Tactile amnesia: loss of ability to judge the shape of objects by touch. See also astereognosis. (3) Verbal amnesia: loss of ability to remember words. (4) Visual amnesia: loss of ability to recall or to recognize familiar objects or printed words

Front 311

nihilism

Back 311

Delusion of the nonexistence of the self or part of the self; also refers to an attitude of total rejection of established values or extreme skepticism regarding moral and value judgments

Front 312

nihilistic delusion

Back 312

depressive delusion that the world and everything related to it have ceased to exist

Front 313

noeisis

Back 313

revelaton in which immense illumination occurs in association with a sense that one has been chosen to lead and command. Can occur in manic or dissociative states.

Front 314

nominal aphasia

Back 314

aphasia characterized by difficulty in giving the correct name of an object. See also anomia and amnestic aphasia.

Front 315

nymphomania

Back 315

Abnormal, excessive, insatiable desire in a woman for sexual intercourse.
Compare with satyriasis

Front 316

obsession

Back 316

Persistent and recurrent idea, thought, or impulse that cannot be eliminated from consciousness by logic or reasoning; obsessions are
involuntary and ego-dystonic. See also compulsion

Front 317

olfactory hallucination

Back 317

Hallucination primarily involving smell or odors; most common in medical disorders, especially in the temporal lobe

Front 318

orientation

Back 318

State of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings in terms of time, place, and person

Front 319

overactivity

Back 319

abnormality in motor behavior than can manifest itself as psychomotor agitation, hyperactivity (hyperkinesis), tics, sleepwalking, or compulsions.

Front 320

overvalued idea

Back 320

False or unreasonable belief or idea that is sustained beyond the bounds of reason. It is held with less intensity or duration than a delusion, but is usually associated with mental illness

Front 321

panic

Back 321

acute, intense attack of anxiety associated with personality disorganization; the anxiety is overwhelming and accompanied by feelings of impending doom

Front 322

panphobia

Back 322

overwhelming fear of everything

Front 323

pantomine

Back 323

gesticulation; psychodrama without the use of words

Front 324

paramnesia

Back 324

Disturbance of memory in which reality and fantasy are confused. It is
observed in dreams and in certain types of schizophrenia and organic mental disorders; it includes phenomena such as déjà vu and déjà entendu, which can occur occasionally in normal persons

Front 325

paranoia

Back 325

Rare psychiatric syndrome marked by the gradual development of a highly
elaborate and complex delusional system, generally involving persecutory or grandiose delusions, with few other signs of personality disorganization or thought disorder

Front 326

paranoid delusions

Back 326

includes persecutory delusions and delusions of reference, control, and grandeur

Front 327

paranoid ideation

Back 327

thinking dominated by suspicious, persecutory, or grandiose content of less than delusional proportions

Front 328

paraphasia

Back 328

Abnormal speech in which one word is substituted for another, the irrelevant word generally resembling the required one in morphology,
meaning, or phonetic composition; the inappropriate word may be a legitimate one used incorrectly, such as clover instead of hand, or a
bizarre nonsense expression, such as treen instead of train. Paraphasic speech may be seen in organic aphasias and in mental disorders such as
schizophrenia. See also metonymy and word approximation

Front 329

parapraxis

Back 329

faulty act, such as a slip of the tongue or othe misplacement of an article. Freud ascribed parapraxes to unconscious motives.

Front 330

paresis

Back 330

weakness or partial paralysis of organic origin

Front 331

paresthesia

Back 331

abnormal spontaneous tactile sensation, such as a burning, tingling, or pins-and-needles sensation

Front 332

perception

Back 332

Conscious awareness of elements in the environment by the mental processing of sensory stimuli; sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to the mental process by which all kinds of data, intellectual, emotional,
and sensory, are meaningfully organized. See also apperception

Front 333

perseveration

Back 333

(1) Pathological repetition of the same response to different stimuli, as in a repetition of the same verbal response to different questions. (2)
Persistent repetition of specific words or concepts in the process of speaking. Seen in cognitive disorders, schizophrenia, and other mental illness. See also verbigeration

Front 334

phantom limb

Back 334

False sensation that an extremity that has been lost is, in fact, present.

Front 335

phobia

Back 335

Persistent, pathological, unrealistic, intense fear of an object or situation; the phobic person may realize that the fear is irrational but, nonetheless, cannot dispel it

Front 336

pica

Back 336

craving and eating of nonfood substances, such as paint and clay

Front 337

polyphagia

Back 337

pathological overeating

Front 338

positive signs

Back 338

in scizophrenia: hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorder

Front 339

posturing

Back 339

strange, fixed, and bizarre bodily positions held by a patient for an extended time. see also catatonia

Front 340

poverty of speech content

Back 340

Speech that is adequate in amount, but conveys little information because of vagueness, emptiness, or stereotyped phrases

Front 341

poverty of speech

Back 341

Restriction in the amount of speech used; replies may be monosyllabic. See also laconic speech

Front 342

preoccupation of thought

Back 342

centering of thought content on a particular idea, associated with a strong affective tone, such as a paranoid trend or a suicidal or homicidal preoccupation

Front 343

pressured speech

Back 343

Increase in the amount of spontaneous speech; rapid, loud, accelerated speech, as occurs in mania, schizophrenia, and cognitive disorders

Front 344

primary process thinking

Back 344

In psychoanalysis, the mental activity directly related to the functions of the id and characteristic of unconscious mental processes; marked by primitive, prelogical thinking and by the tendency to seek immediate discharge and gratification of instinctual demands. Includes thinking that is dereistic, illogical, magical; normally found in dreams, abnormally in psychosis. Compare with secondary process thinking

Front 345

projection

Back 345

Unconscious defense mechanism in which persons attribute to another those generally unconscious ideas, thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are in themselves undesirable or unacceptable as a form of protection from anxiety arising from an inner conflict; by externalizing whatever is unacceptable, they deal with it as a situation apart from themselves

Front 346

prosopagnosia

Back 346

Inability to recognize familiar faces that is not caused by impaired visual acuity or level of consciousness.

Front 347

pseudocyesis

Back 347

Rare condition in which a nonpregnant patient has the signs and
symptoms of pregnancy, such as abdominal distention, breast enlargement, pigmentation, cessation of menses, and morning sickness

Front 348

pseudodementia

Back 348

(1) Dementia-like disorder that can be reversed by appropriate treatment and is not caused by organic brain disease. (2) Condition in which patients show exaggerated indifference to their surroundings in the absence of a mental disorder; also occurs in depression and factitious disorders

Front 349

pseudologia phantastica

Back 349

Disorder characterized by uncontrollable lying in which patients elaborate extensive fantasies that they freely communicate and act on

Front 350

psychomotor agitation

Back 350

Physical and mental overactivity that is usually nonproductive and is
associated with a feeling of inner turmoil, as seen in agitated depression

Front 351

psychosis

Back 351

Mental disorder in which the thoughts, affective response, ability to recognize reality, and ability to communicate and relate to others are sufficiently impaired to interfere grossly with the capacity to deal with reality; the classic characteristics of psychosis are impaired reality testing, hallucinations, delusions, and illusions

Front 352

psychotic

Back 352

(1) Person experiencing psychosis. (2) Denoting or characteristic of psychosis

Front 353

rationalization

Back 353

An unconscious defense mechanism in which irrational or unacceptable behavior, motives, or feelings are logically justified or made consciously tolerable by plausible means

Front 354

reaction formation

Back 354

Unconscious defense mechanism in which a person develops a socialized attitude or interest that is the direct antithesis of some infantile wish or impulse that is harbored consciously or unconsciously. One of the earliest and most unstable defense mechanisms, closely related to repression; both are defenses against impulses or urges that are unacceptable to the ego

Front 355

reality testing

Back 355

Fundamental ego function that consists of tentative actions that test and objectively evaluate the nature and limits of the environment; includes
the ability to differentiate between the external world and the internal world and to accurately judge the relation between the self and the environment

Front 356

recall

Back 356

Process of bringing stored memories into consciousness. See also
memory

Front 357

recent memory

Back 357

recall of events over the past few days

Front 358

recent past memory

Back 358

recall of events over the past few months

Front 359

receptive aphasia

Back 359

Organic loss of ability to comprehend the meaning of words; fluid and spontaneous, but incoherent and nonsensical, speech. See also fluent aphasia and sensory aphasia

Front 360

receptive dysphasia

Back 360

Difficulty in comprehending oral language; the impairment involves comprehension and production of language

Front 361

regression

Back 361

Unconscious defense mechanism in which a person undergoes a partial or total return to earlier patterns of adaptation; observed in many psychiatric conditions, particularly schizophrenia

Front 362

remote memory

Back 362

Recall of events from the distant past

Front 363

repression

Back 363

Freud's term for an unconscious defense mechanism in which
unacceptable mental contents are banished or kept out of consciousness; important in normal psychological development and in neurotic and psychotic symptom formation. Freud recognized two kinds of repression: (1) repression proper, in which the repressed material was once in the
conscious domain, and (2) primal repression, in which the repressed material was never in the conscious realm. Compare with suppression

Front 364

restricted affect

Back 364

Reduction in intensity of feeling tone, which is less severe than in blunted
affect, but clearly reduced. See also constricted affect

Front 365

retrograde amnesia

Back 365

Loss of memory for events preceding the onset of the amnesia. Compare with anterograde amnesia

Front 366

restrospective falsification

Back 366

Memory becomes unintentionally (unconsciously) distorted by being filtered through a person's present emotional, cognitive, and experiential state

Front 367

rigidity

Back 367

In psychiatry, a person's resistance to change, a personality trait

Front 368

ritual

Back 368

(1) Formalized activity practiced by a person to reduce anxiety, as in OCD. (2) Ceremonial activity of cultural origin

Front 369

rumination

Back 369

Constant preoccupation with thinking about a single idea or theme, as in OCD

Front 370

satyriasis

Back 370

Morbid, insatiable sexual need or desire in a man. Compare with nymphomania

Front 371

scotoma

Back 371

(1) In psychiatry, a figurative blind spot in a person's psychological awareness. (2) In neurology, a localized visual field defect

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secondary process thinking

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In psychoanalysis, the form of thinking that is logical, organized, reality oriented, and influenced by the demands of the environment; characterizes the mental activity of the ego. Compare with primary process thinking

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seizure

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An attack or sudden onset of certain symptoms, such as convulsions, loss of consciousness, and psychic or sensory disturbances; seen in epilepsy and can be substance induced

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sensorium

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Hypothetical sensory center in the brain that is involved with clarity of awareness about oneself and one's surroundings, including the ability to perceive and to process ongoing events in light of past experiences,
future options, and current circumstances; sometimes used interchangeably with consciousness

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sensory aphasia

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Organic loss of ability to comprehend the meaning of words; fluid and
spontaneous, but incoherent and nonsensical, speech. See also fluent aphasia and receptive aphasia.

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sensory extinction

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Neurological sign operationally defined as failure to report one of two simultaneously presented sensory stimuli, despite that either stimulus alone is correctly reported. Also called sensory inattention

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shame

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Failure to live up to self-expectations; often associated with fantasy of
how person will be seen by others. See also guilt

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short-term memory

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Reproduction, recognition, or recall of perceived material within minutes after the initial presentation. Compare with immediate memory and long-term memory

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simultanagnosia

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Impairment in the perception or integration of visual stimuli appearing simultaneously

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somatic delusion

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Delusion pertaining to the functioning of one's body

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somatic hallucination

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Hallucination involving the perception of a physical experience localized within the body

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somatopagnosia

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Inability to recognize a part of one's body as one's own (also called ignorance of the body and autotopagnosia).

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somnolense

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Pathological sleepiness or drowsiness from which one can be aroused to a normal state of consciousness

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spatial agnosia

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inability to recognise spatial relations

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speaking in tongues

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Expression of a revelatory message through unintelligible words; not considered a disorder of thought if associated with practices of specific Pentecostal religions. See also glossolalia

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stereotypy

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Continuous mechanical repetition of speech or physical activities; observed in catatonic schizophrenia

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stupor

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(1) State of decreased reactivity to stimuli and less than full awareness of one's surroundings; as a disturbance of consciousness, it indicates a condition of partial coma or semicoma. (2) In psychiatry, used
synonymously with mutism and does not necessarily imply a disturbance of consciousness; in catatonic stupor, patients are ordinarily aware of their surroundings

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stuttering

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Frequent repetition or prolongation of a sound or syllable, leading to markedly impaired speech fluency

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sublimation

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Unconscious defense mechanism in which the energy associated with
unacceptable impulses or drives is diverted into personally and socially
acceptable channels; unlike other defense mechanisms, it offers some minimal gratification of the instinctual drive or impulse

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substitution

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Unconscious defense mechanism in which a person replaces an unacceptable wish, drive, emotion, or goal with one that is more acceptable

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suggestibility

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State of uncritical compliance with influence or of uncritical acceptance of an idea, belief, or attitude; commonly observed among persons with hysterical traits

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suicidal ideation

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thoughts or act of taking one's own life

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suppression

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conscious act of controlling and inhibiting an unacceptable impulse, emotion, or idea; differentiated from repression in that repression is an unconscious process

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symbolization

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Unconscious defense mechanism in which one idea or object comes to stand for another because of some common aspect or quality in both; based on similarity and association; the symbols formed protect the person from the anxiety that may be attached to the original idea or object

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synesthesia

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Condition in which the stimulation of one sensory modality is perceived as
sensation in a different modality, as when a sound produces a sensation of color

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syntactical aphasia

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Aphasia characterized by difficulty in understanding spoken speech; associated with gross disorder of thought and expression

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systematized delusion

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Group of elaborate delusions related to a single event or theme

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tactile hallucination

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Hallucination primarily involving the sense of touch. Also called haptic hallucination

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tangentiality

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Oblique, digressive, or even irrelevant manner of speech in which the central idea is not communicated

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tension

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physiological or psychic arousal, uneasiness, or pressure toward action; an unpleasurable alteration in mental or physical state that seeks relief through action

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terminal insomnia

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early morning awakening or waking up at least 2 hours before planning to wake up.

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thought broadcasting

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feeling that one's thoughts are being broadcast or projected into the environment

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thought disorder

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Any disturbance of thinking that affects language, communication, or thought content; the hallmark feature of schizophrenia. Manifestations range from simple blocking and mild circumstantiality to profound
loosening of associations, incoherence, and delusions; characterized by a failure to follow semantic and syntactic rules that is inconsistent with the person's education, intelligence, or cultural background

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thought insertion

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delusion that thoughts are being implanted in one's mind by other people or forces

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thought latency

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the period of time between a thought and its verbal expression. Increased in schizophrenia (see blocking) and decreased in mania (see pressured speech).

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thought withdrawal

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Delusion that one's thoughts are being removed from one's mind by other people or forces. See also thought broadcasting

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tic disorders

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Predominantly psychogenic disorders characterized by involuntary, spasmodic, stereotyped movement of small groups of muscles; seen most predominantly in moments of stress or anxiety, rarely as a result of organic disease

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tinnitus

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Noises in one or both ears, such as ringing, buzzing, or clicking; an adverse effect of some psychotropic drugs.

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tonic convulsion

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convulsion in which the muscle contraction is sustained

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trailing phenomenon

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Perceptual abnormality associated with hallucinogenic drugs in which moving objects are seen as a series of discrete and discontinuous images

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trance

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sleep like state of reduced consciousness and activity.

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tremor

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Rhythmical alteration in movement, which is usually faster than one beat a second; typically, tremors decrease during periods of relaxation and sleep and increase during periods of anger and increased tension

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true insight

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Understanding of the objective reality of a situation coupled with the motivational and emotional impetus to master the situation or change behavior

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twilight state

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disturbed consciousness with hallucinations

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twirling

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Sign present in autistic children who continually rotate in the direction in which their head is turned

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unconscious

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(1) One of three divisions of Freud's topographic theory of the mind (the others being the conscious and the preconscious) in which the psychic material is not readily accessible to conscious awareness by ordinary means; its existence may be manifest in symptom formation, in dreams, or under the influence of drugs. (2) In popular (but more ambiguous)usage, any mental material not in the immediate field of awareness. (3) Denoting a state of unawareness, with lack of response to external
stimuli, as in a coma

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undoing

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Unconscious primitive defense mechanism, repetitive in nature, by which a person symbolically acts out in reverse something unacceptable that has
already been done or against which the ego must defend itself; a form of magical expiatory action, commonly observed in OCD

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unio mystica

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feelings of mystic unity with an infinite power

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vegetative signs

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In depression, denoting characteristic symptoms such as sleep disturbance (especially early morning awakening), decreased appetite, constipation, weight loss, and loss of sexual response

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verbigeration

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Meaningless and stereotyped repetition of words or phrases, as seen in schizophrenia. Also called cataphasia. See also perseveration

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vertigo

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Sensation that one or the world around one is spinning or revolving; a hallmark of vestibular dysfunction, not to be confused with dizziness

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visual agnosia

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inability to recognise objects or persons

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visual hallucination

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hallucination primarily involving the sense of sight

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waxy flexibility

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Condition in which a person maintains the body position into which they are placed. Also called catalepsy

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word approximation

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Use of conventional words in an unconventional or inappropriate way (metonymy or of new words that are developed by conventional rules of word formation) (e.g., handshoes for gloves and time measure for clock);
distinguished from a neologism, which is a new word whose derivation
cannot be understood. See also paraphasia

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word salad

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incoherent, essentially incomprehensible, mixture of words and phrases commonly seen in far-advanced cases of schizophrenia.

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xenophobia

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abnormal fear of strangers.

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zoophobia

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abnormal fear of animals