Author: Glossary

Referring to the neurotransmitter glutamate.  

Receptors in the central nervous system (CNS) to which glutamate binds. Glutamate receptors play a vital role in the mediation of excitatory synaptic transmission and are important for neural communication, memory formation, and learning. The two primary glutamate receptors are named after the agonists that bind to them with high specificity: AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) and…

Gibberish-like speech or “speaking in tongues.” Repetitive nonsense speech, not related to the subject or situation involved. Nonsense speech that mimics normal speech in that it is appropriately formed into an imitation of syllables, words, and sentences. It can be uttered in trance states and during sleep. Speaking in tongues. In a spiritual context, it…

With the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the subthalamic nucleus, and the substantia nigra, a major element of the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia appear to be involved in motor control, such as planning and execution of complex motor activity. A pale section within the lenticular nucleus of the brain.  

The disturbing sensation of a lump in the throat. A feeling of not being able to swallow, caused by worry or embarrassment. Transitory feeling of a lump in the throat that cannot be swallowed or coughed up, often accompanying anxiety or emotional experience; it is thought to be due to a functional disturbance of nerves…

A numerical assessment, on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest score, of the patient’s overall symptomatology and psychological, social, and occupational functioning on a hypothetical continuum of mental health–illness. A tool rating a person’s social, occupational, and psychological functioning. The scale rates from high functioning (i.e., highly adapted and integrated…

A genetically determined syndrome usually beginning in early childhood characterized by repetitive tics, other abnormal movements, uncontrolled grunts, unintelligible sounds, and occasionally verbal obscenities. Also known as tourette’s disorder, from part of the last name of Georges Gilles de la Tourette (1857–1904). Also known as Tourette’s syndrome, this is a hereditary condition of severe and…

A preoccupation with death and the deceased (sometimes associated with witchcraft) frequently observed among Native American tribes. Symptoms attributed to it include bad dreams, weakness, feelings of danger, loss of appetite, fainting, dizziness, fear, anxiety, hallucinations, loss of consciousness, confusion, feelings of futility, and a sense of suffocation. Ghost sickness is a culture-bound syndrome observed…

A German school of psychology that emphasizes a total perceptual configuration and the interrelationships of its component parts. The hypothetical approach that emphasizes the role of wholes (gestaltism) in perception and other psychological processes. Psychology that emphasizes the importance of the wholeness of psychological processes and behavior, rather than their components.