Author: Glossary

Inherited traits, potentials, and capacities.  

A form of tertiary neurosyphilis. It is a general medical condition occasionally associated with other neurological signs of syphilitic involvement of the nervous system and detectable with laboratory tests of the blood or spinal fluid. A form of tertiary syphilis; an organic mental disorder occasionally associated with other neurological signs of syphilitic involvement of the…

Any condition or disorder that is listed outside the mental disorders section of the INTERNATIONAL classification of diseases (ICD). The phrase is used in DSM-IV-TR as a term of convenience only. It does not imply that there is any fundamental distinction between mental disorders and general medical conditions or that mental disorders are unrelated to…

A disorder characterized by unrealistic or excessive anxiety, apprehensive expectations, and worry about many life circumstances (e.g., academic, athletic, or social performance). A mother may worry excessively about her child, who is in no danger. The worry is associated with symptoms such as trembling, muscle tension, restlessness, feelings of being smothered, light-headedness, insomnia, exaggerated startle…

The image a person presents to others and to the self that declares him or her to be boy or girl, man or woman. Gender role is the public declaration of gender identity, but the two do not necessarily coincide. The socially accepted characteristics and behaviors typically associated with a person’s gender identity. Sexual identity…

A disorder characterized by a strong and persistent identification with the opposite sex (cross-gender identification) and discomfort with one’s assigned sex or a sense of inappropriateness in that gender role. Although onset is usually in childhood or adolescence, the disorder may not present clinically until adulthood. Manifestations include a repeated desire to be of the…

The inner sense of maleness or femaleness that identifies the person as being male, female, or ambivalent. Differentiation of gender identity usually takes place in infancy and early childhood and is reinforced by the hormonal changes of puberty. Gender identity is distinguished from sexual identity, which is biologically determined. The deeply held inner conviction of…

“Active” resistance to passive movement of the extremities that does not appear to be under voluntary control. This phenomenon may occur in disorders of the cerebral cortex. In cerebrocortical disease, involuntary resistance to passive movement.