Author: Glossary

A reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to treat mild to moderate alzheimer’s disease. Marketed under the brand name exelon.  

A repetitive activity, usually a distorted or stereotyped elaboration of some routine of daily life, employed to relieve anxiety. Most commonly seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Berne’s term for a form of long-term coping that consists of shallow exchanges between people. A detailed, prescribed order of actions; may be religious, personal, or part of psychiatric disorders…

Brand name for the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone.  

Brand name for the opioid antagonist drug naltrexone.  

A drug that inhibits the reuptake of a neurotransmitter from the synapse into the presynaptic neuron, leading to an increase in concentration of that neurotransmitter and therefore an increase in neurotransmission. Drugs that exert their psychological and physiological effects through reuptake inhibition include various antidepressants, anxiolytics, and stimulants. Most known reuptake inhibitors affect serotonin, norepinephrine,…

A pervasive developmental disorder and genetic condition characterized by the appearance, between ages 5 months and 48 months, of decelerated head growth, loss of previously acquired purposeful hand movements and development of stereotyped hand movements (hand wringing), loss of social engagement (social interaction may develop later), poorly coordinated gait or trunk movements, and impaired expressive…

Unconscious distortion of past experiences to conform to present emotional needs. Deliberate or unconscious alteration of memory for past events or situations, a mental mechanism for ego preservation.