Glossary

Category: M

  • Methamphetamine

    Methamphetamine

    A longer-acting, legally produced form of the psychostimulant drug, marketed under the brand name desoxyn. Although it is approved for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), methamphetamine is infrequently prescribed because of its abuse potential. A powerful stimulant of the amphetamine group. Used in the treatment of narcolepsy. Central nervous system stimulant used to treat…

  • Methadone

    A synthetic narcotic that is used as an analgesic in pain management and in the treatment of opioid dependence. For opioid dependence, because of methadone’s long duration of effect, it is used as a substitute for shorter-acting narcotics such as heroin or morphine, producing a less socially disabling addiction or aiding in withdrawal from opioids.…

  • Metapsychology

    The branch of theoretical or speculative psychology that deals with the significance of mental processes; the nature of the mind-body relationship; the origin, purpose, and structure of the mind; and similar hypotheses that are beyond the realm of empirical verification.    

  • Metapsychiatry

    The interface between psychiatry and psychic phenomena such as parapsychology, mysticism, altered states of consciousness, and nonmedical healing.  

  • Metadate

    Brand name for the central nervous system (CNS) stimulant drug methylphenidate.  

  • Mesoridazine

    An older conventional antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. mesoridazine (including all generic and brand [serentil] products) was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2004 because of its association with dangerous cardiac effects. An antipsychotic drug.  

  • Mesmerism

    Early term for hypnosis. Named after German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815). Associated with theories of “animal magnetism” that were formulated by Anton Mesmer hypnosis. Hypnosis based on the ideas of the 18th-century physician Franz Mesmer, sometimes employing magnets and a variety of other equipment. Originally Mesmer’s theory of animal magnetism, mesmerism now means therapeutics…

  • Mescaline

    Mescaline

    An alkaloid originally derived from the peyote cactus, resembling amphetamine and adrenaline (epinephrine) chemically; used to induce altered perceptions. Also used by native americans of the southwest in religious rites. The chief psychoactive chemical found in peyote. Hallucinogenic drug that comes from the peyote cactus. Psychoactive alkaloid derived from a cactus (Lophophora williamsii) that produces…

  • Meridia

    Former brand name for the withdrawn appetite suppressant drug sibutramine.  

  • Meprobamate

    A nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic medication used to treat anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of anxiety symptoms. Now available only as generic but may still be known by the discontinued brand names equanil and miltown. Sedative and tranquilizer used to treat anxiety and muscle tension. Adverse effects include drowsiness, ataxia, allergic reactions, and interaction with…