Category: P

A form of hypotension in which a person’s blood pressure suddenly falls when the person stands up from a seated or recumbent position. An abnormal decrease in blood pressure that occurs upon standing and may be associated with lightheadedness, weakness, and fainting. Referring to the position of the body when standing up straight. A common…

An anxiety disorder in which exposure to an exceptional mental or physical stressor is followed, sometimes immediately and sometimes not until 6 months or more after the stress, by persistent reexperiencing of the event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma or numbing of general responsiveness, and manifestations of hyperarousal. The trauma typically includes experiencing,…

An inexact, general term for any type of psychosis occurring within 90 days after childbirth. A psychosis that develops during the 6 months following childbirth, the highest incidence being in the third to sixth day after delivery through the first month postpartum. The symptoms and signs include hallucinations, delusions, preoccupation with death, self-mutilation, infanticide, distorted…

Reexperiencing one or more of the perceptual symptoms that had been experienced while using the hallucinogen, following cessation of its use. Some examples are the illusion of objects changing shape, false perceptions of movement in the peripheral field of vision, flashes or intensification of colors, or trails of images of moving objects.  

A proposed disorder (listed in dsm-ivtr appendix b, “criteria sets and axes provided for further study”) whose essential features are acquired cognitive impairment and behavioral disturbance that develop after head trauma. The cognitive and neurobehavioral sequelae appear within 4 weeks of experiencing the trauma and are accompanied by somatic complaints (headache, dizziness, noise intolerance), emotional…

A brain imaging technique that permits evaluation of regional metabolic differences by looking at radioisotope distribution. By using positron-emitting isotopes of glucose, oxygen, neurotransmitters, or drugs, one can localize sites of increased (or decreased) metabolic turnover or blood flow in a wide variety of neurological or psychiatric conditions. The visual display is similar to that…

A group of symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia that include delusions, which may be bizarre in nature; hallucinations, especially auditory; disorganized speech; inappropriate affect; and disorganized behavior. In schizophrenia behavior characterized by hallucinations and other bizarre behavioral patterns, negative symptoms. Schizophrenia symptoms manifest as the exhibition or existence of highly abnormal or excessive behaviors, encompassing hallucinations…

A street name for nitrite inhalants that are sometimes abused. A slang term for the inhalant drug, amyl nitrate.  

In dsm-iv-tr, defined as use of at least three different substances (not including nicotine or caffeine) for 6 months or more, during which time no single substance has predominated.