Category: A

An NMDA receptor antagonist originally developed to treat flu symptoms but also effective in treating parkinson’s disease and extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) induced by conventional antipsychotic medications. Now available only as generic but may still be known by the discontinued brand name symmetrel. A medication originally developed to treat flu symptoms that has been found to…

A benzodiazepine anxiolytic medication used in the management of anxiety disorders. Marketed under the brand name xanax. A benzodiazepine sedative. Antianxiety agent of the benzodiazepine class. Adverse effects include fatigue, dry mouth, confusion, and nasal congestion. A benzodiazepine and antianxiety agent, administered orally to treat anxiety and panic attacks. Trade name is Xanax. This medication…

Literally, speechlessness. Most commonly used to refer to the lack of spontaneity and content in speech and diminished flow of conversation that occur as negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Inability to speak owing to a mental condition or a symptom of dementia. The inability to express oneself through speech. Loss of speaking ability, resulting from brain…

An important neurosteroid in the human brain, allopregnanolone is a metabolite of progesterone and a barbiturate like modulator of central nervous system (CNS) GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) receptors that modify a range of behaviors, including the stress response.  

Referring to adaptation by altering the external environment. An approach in psychotherapy with the goal of effecting changes in the external environment. Contrast with autoplastic, which refers to the alteration of one’s own behavior and responses.  

The oldest part of the cerebral cortex that includes the olfactory cortex and the hippocampus.  

A member of a nonmedical profession whose functions traditionally include involvement in the prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation process. In psychiatry, examples include the psychiatric nurse, psychiatric social worker, clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, occupational therapist, and art therapist. A person with special training, working under the supervision of a health professional with responsibilities bearing on patient care.…

Obsolete term for a psychiatrist who testifies in court about a person’s sanity or mental competence. In law, a psychiatrist giving expert testimony in a medico-legal trial.    

An unusual neurological disorder in which one of the sufferer’s hands seems to take on a mind of its own. It is best documented in cases where a person has had the two hemispheres of the brain surgically separated, a procedure sometimes used to relieve the symptoms of extreme cases of epilepsy. The syndrome also…

The estrangement felt in a cultural setting one views as foreign, unpredictable, or unacceptable. For example, in depersonalization phenomena, feelings of unreality or strangeness produce a sense of alienation from one’s self or environment. In obsessions, where there is fear of one’s emotions, avoidance of situations that arouse emotions, and continuing effort to keep feelings…