Author: Glossary

A term in ethology referring to a process similar to rapid learning or behavioral patterning that occurs at critical points in very early stages of animal development. The extent to which imprinting occurs in human development has not been established. A rapid and irreversible form of learning that takes place in some animals during the…

A form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient’s life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.  

The recall of perceived material within a period of 30 seconds to 25 minutes after presentation. Memory for events or information in the immediate past. Brain damage that limits one’s ability to store new information may impair immediate memory but have no effect on memories of the distant past.  

Brand name for the antimigraine drug sumatriptan.  

A tricyclic antidepressant medication used to treat depression, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder and as adjunctive therapy in reducing enuresis in children ages 6 years and older. Marketed under the brand name tofranil. Antidepressant used to treat depression. Also used in the treatment of cataplexy which often accompanies narcolepsy. Adverse effects include sedation, gastrointestinal…

In Jungian theory (Carl Gustav Jung, 1875–1961), an unconscious mental image, usually an idealization, of an important person in one’s early history. The internal unconscious representation of an important person in the individual’s life, particularly a parent. In psychoanalysis, it refers to the childhood idea, which is only partially grounded in reality, of a parent…

An atypical antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia. Marketed under the brand name fanapt.  

A misperception of a real external stimulus. For example, a person may misperceive the rustling of leaves as the sound of voices. Contrast with hallucination. The result when one erroneously organizes, then misinterprets, and misperceives stimuli q.v. from the physical environment as something contrary to reality. A faulty perception or misinterpretation of something perceived, such…

A culture-specific syndrome.  

A person with gross intellectual disability who nonetheless is capable of performing certain remarkable feats in sharply circumscribed intellectual areas, such as calendar calculation or puzzle solving. An individual with a rare form of mental retardation but being extremely talented in one or several limited areas of intellectual achievement. A person with learning difficulties who…