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5-HT - See Serotonin

Abstract thinking - Style of thinking in which concepts and ideas are understood and later applied in problem solving. The ability to conceptualize ideas. An abstraction is an idea, concept, or word that defines the phenomena which make up the concrete events or things which the abstraction refers to, the referents.

Acalculia - The loss of a previously possessed ability to engage in arithmetic calculation.

Accommodation - The ability to change one’s way of thinking in order to introduce new ideas, objects, or experiences.

Acethylcholine - A neurotransmitter in the brain that helps to regulate memory, and in the peripheral nervous system, where it affects the actions of skeletal and smooth muscle.

Acrophobia - Fear of high places.

Acting-out - Reaction in which a person lowers anxiety, hostility or other unpleasant emotions by allowing the expression in overt behavior; The process of expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings via actions rather than words. The person is not consciously aware of the meaning or etiology of such acts. Acting out may be harmful or, in controlled situations, therapeutic.

Acting-out behaviors - Behaviors that originate on an unconscious level to reduce anxiety and tension. Example:  anger, crying, violence.

Action potential - The electro-chemical signal that carries information throughout the nerve cell.

Activities of daily living - The skills necessary to live independently as an adult.

Acute - A term used to describe a disorder of sudden onset with relatively short duration, usually with intense symptoms.

Acute schizophrenia - The height of symptoms of schizophrenia.

Addiction - Loss of control with respect to use of a drug, taking the drug despite related problems, and a tendency to relapse.

Adjustment disorder - Development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor occurring within 3 months of the onset of the stressor; state of mixed of emotions such as depression and anxiety which occurs as a reaction to major life events or when having to face major life changes such as illness or relationship breakdown.

Adrenal glands - Glands that release hormones and are located in the kidney area.

Adrenaline - See Epinephrine

Adrenergic  - Any nerve cell that releases either epinephrine (adrenaline) or norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

Affect  - An objective observation of a person’s emotions; Pattern of observable behaviors which is the expression of a subjectively experienced feeling state (emotion) and is variable over time in response to changing emotional states.

Affective disorders  - Psychiatric disorders marked by a disturbance of mood or emotions. Syn. Mood Disorders. Examples would include Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymia, Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder.

Ageism - Erroneous beliefs about the elderly, a bias against older people based solely on their age.

Aggression - Any verbal or nonverbal forceful means to harm or abuse another person or object. Behavior aimed at hurting or destroying someone or something.

Agitation - Marked restlessness and behavioral excitement. Excessive motor activity that accompanies and is associated with a feeling of inner tension. The activity is usually non-productive and repetitious and consists of such behavior as pacing, fidgeting, wringing of the hands, pulling of clothes, and inability to sit still.

Agnosia  - Loss of the ability to recognize familiar objects. Failure to recognize or identify objects despite intact sensory function; This may be seen in dementia of various types.  An example would be the failure of someone to recognize a paper clip placed in their hand while keeping their eyes closed.

Agonist  - A compound that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter at the level of the nerve cell.

Agonist drug  - A chemical entity that is not naturally occurring within the body, acts upon a receptor of a nerve cell, and is capable of producing the maximal effect that can be produced by stimulating that receptor. A partial agonist is capable only of producing less than the maximal effect even when given in a concentration sufficient to bind with all available receptors.

Agoraphobia - Literally a fear of the market place. Generally high levels of anxiety and phobic symptoms. May include a fear of crowds, open and closed spaces and traveling by public transport; fear and avoidance of being alone or being in open spaces from which escape might be difficult.

Agranulocytosis - A serious condition in which white blood cells decrease in number or disappear altogether.

Agraphia - Loss of a previous ability to write, resulting from a brain disorder.

Akathisia - Rhythmic movements (such as constant pacing) often noticed in people taking antipsychotic medication. The medical word for extreme restlessness, one complaints of restlessness accompanied by movements such as fidgeting of the legs, rocking from foot to foot, pacing, or inability to sit or stand. Symptoms can develop within a few weeks of starting or raising the dose of traditional neuroleptic medications or of reducing the dose of medication used to treat extra pyramidal symptoms; akathisia is a state of motor restlessness ranging from a feeling of inner disquiet to inability to sit still or lie quietly.

Akinesia - Absence or diminution of voluntary motion; A state of motor inhibition or reduced voluntary movement.

Alcoholic hallucinations  - Auditory hallucinations reported to occur after heavy drinking by alcohol-dependent clients.

Alcoholism - Dependence on alcohol to the extent that it seriously interferes with daily functioning.

Alexia - Loss of a previously intact ability to grasp the meaning of written or printed words and sentences.

Alienation - The estrangement felt in a 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.

Alogia  - An impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing speech and language behavior. There may be brief and concrete replies to questions and restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech (poverty of speech). Sometimes the speech is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is over-concrete, over-abstract, repetitive, or stereotyped (poverty of content). This is a “negative” symptom of schizophrenia.

Alzheimer’s disease - A progressive dementia resulting from brain atrophy.

Ambivalence - The holding, at the same time, of 2 opposing emotions, attitudes, ideas or wishes toward the same person, situation, or object. The coexistence of contradictory emotions, attitudes, ideas, or desires with respect to a particular person, object, or situation. Ordinarily, the ambivalence is not fully conscious and suggests psychopathology only when present in an extreme form.

Amenorrhea - Absence of menstrual periods. This can be a side-effect of antipsychotic medications.

Amnesia - Loss of memory. Types of amnesia include:
Anterograde: loss of memory of events that occur after the onset of the etiological condition or agent.
Retrograde: loss of memory of events that occurred before the onset of the etiological condition or agent.

Amygdala - An almond-shaped structure in the brain, involved in the generation of emotions. It also plays a role in the development of memories. Part of the Limbic System.

Analgesia - The reduction or elimination of pain without the loss of consciousness.

Anergia - Lack of energy, passivity.

Anhedonia - The inability to experience pleasure or joy. Contrast with hedonism.

Anorexia - A medical term that signifies a loss of appetite. A person with anorexia nervosa, however, may not have any loss of appetite and often is preoccupied with food and eating in order to control his or her eating.

Anorexia nervosa - An eating disorder marked by dramatic weight loss coupled with an intense fear of obesity.

Anosagnosia - A neurological syndrome characterized by an inability to recognize that one has a mental illness. Due to a brain deficit the brain does not register that it is sick.

Antabuse (disulfiram) - A drug given to alcoholics that produces nausea, vomiting, dizziness, flushing, and tachycardia if alcohol is consumed.

Antagonist - A compound that blocks the action of a neurotransmitter; Medication, hormone, or neurotransmitter that binds to a receptor and prevents a response.

Anterograde amnesia - Loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma; sometimes in effect for events during and for a long time following the trauma.

Anti-anxiety drug - See Anxiolytic Drug

Anticholinergic - Blocking the action of acetylcholine, one of the chemicals the body makes to help nerve cells communicate with each other. This describes a group of the most common side-effects of psychotropic medications, including dry mouth, blurry vision, palpitations, and constipation.

Anticholinergic side effects  - Side effects cause by the use of some psychotropic medications. Symptoms include dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, blurred vision, and dry mucous membranes.

Anticipatory grief - Grief that occurs before an actual loss.

Anti-convulsant drug - The anticonvulsants, sometimes also called anti-epileptics, belong to a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in prevention of the occurrence of epileptic seizures. Same as Anti-epileptic.

Antidepressants - Drugs predominantly used to elevate mood in people who are depressed.

Anti-epileptic drug - See Anti-Convulsant Drug

Anti-manic drugs - Drugs used in the treatment of a manic state to lower an elevated and unstable mood and to reduce irritability and aggressiveness.

Anti-psychotic drugs - Drugs that have the ability to decrease psychotic, paranoid, and disorganized thinking and positively alter bizarre behaviors. Same as Major Tranquilizer and Neuroleptics.

Antisocial personality disorder - A personality disorder marked by a lack of ethical or moral development. Common behavior seen in people with this disorder includes crimes against society, aggressiveness, inability to feel remorse, untruthfulness and insincerity, unreliability, and failure to follow any life plan.

Anxiety  - Generalized feelings of fear and apprehension resulting from a real or perceived threat whose actual source is unknown or unrecognized. Anxiety is often distinguished from fear in that fear is a more appropriate word to use when there exists threat or danger in the real world.  Anxiety is reflective more of a threat that is not apparent or imminent in the real world, at least not to the experienced degree.

Anxiolytic drug - Medications used to reduce serious anxiety, tension, and agitation; Drugs prescribed usually on a short-term basis to reduce anxiety. Same as Anti-Anxiety Drug and Minor Tranquilizer.

Apathy - A state of indifference; lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern.

Aphasia - Difficulty in formation of words; loss of language ability. In extreme cases, the person may be limited to a few words, may babble, or may become mute.

Apraxia - Loss of purposeful motor movements; the person may be unable to shave, to dress, or to do other once-familiar and purposeful tasks.

Assertiveness - Asking for what one wants or acting to get what one wants in a way that respects the rights and feelings of other people.

Assimilation - A thought process whereby new ideas and experiences are fitted into previously existing cognitive structures or maps.

Associative looseness - See Loose Associations.

Ataxia - Partial or complete loss of coordination of voluntary muscular movement.

Atrophy - Shrinking of tissues.

Attention - The ability to focus in a sustained manner on a particular stimulus or activity. A disturbance in attention may be manifested by easy distractibility or difficulty in finishing tasks or in concentrating on work.

Attitude - A consistent, learned disposition to respond in a particular way to a given person or situation.

Atypical anti-psychotics  - Unlike their predecessors, this newer class of anti-psychotic medications treat both the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses with fewer side-effects. Examples include Seroquel® (quetiapine fumarate) Tablets, Clozaril® (clozapine), Zyprexa® (olanzapine), Risperdal®(risperidone) Tablets and GeodonTM (Ziprasidone).
Also known as Serotonin-Dopamine Antagonists (SDAs).

Atypical depression - A type of depression in which the person reacts to the environment, is sensitive to rejection, and may gain weight and sleep more than usual; this condition is the opposite of typical depression, which is characterized by weight loss and insomnia.

Auditory hallucinations - Hallucinations involving the perception of sound, most commonly of voices. Some clinicians and investigators would not include those experiences perceived as coming from inside the head and would instead limit the concept of true auditory hallucinations to those sounds whose source is perceived as being external.

Aura - A premonitory, subjective brief sensation (e.g., a flash of light) that warns of an impending headache or convulsion. The nature of the sensation depends on the brain area in which the attack begins. Seen in migraine and epilepsy.

Autoeroticism - Sensual self-gratification. Characteristic of, but not limited to, an early stage of emotional development. Includes satisfactions derived from genital play, masturbation, fantasy, and oral, anal, and visual sources.

Autonomic nervous system - That portion of the nervous system that controls internal organs and glands. Not under voluntary control.

Autonomy - Self-reliance; the sense of being an individual in one’s own right.

Avoidant personality disorder - A personality disorder marked by hypersensitivity to rejection, limited social relationships, and low self-esteem.

Avolition - Lack of motivation. An inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities. When severe enough to be considered pathological, avolition is pervasive and prevents the person from completing many different types of activities (e.g., work, intellectual pursuits, and self-care). A "negative" symptom of schizophrenia.

Axon - Part of a nerve cell that conveys electrical impulse.

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