Author: Glossary

Severe, generalized, persistent anxiety not specifically ascribed to a particular object or event and often a precursor of panic. Anxiety not referable to any specific situation or cause. A severe, overall, and general sense of unease and apprehension unrelated to any event, situation, or thought. Symptoms include increased heart rate and breathing, sweating, trembling, fatigue,…

In psychoanalytic therapy, spontaneous, uncensored verbalization by the patient of whatever comes to mind. Consists of a person relating to a therapist any thoughts that come to mind. A method used in psychoanalytic therapy. In psychoanalysis, technique intended to reveal what is carried in the unconscious, whereby a person says spontaneously whatever comes to mind,…

Separation into different parts or detachment of one or more parts from the rest. A fear of fragmentation of the personality, also known as disintegration anxiety, is often observed in patients whenever they are exposed to repetitions of earlier experiences that interfered with development of the self. This fear may be expressed as feelings of…

The most common form of inherited intellectual disability, caused by an abnormality of the x chromosome. The connection between the tip of the long arm of the abnormal chromosome and the rest of the chromosome is very slender and is easily broken, hence the term fragile x. Clinical manifestations of fragile x syndrome include moderate…

The gene responsible for encoding fragile x mental retardation protein (FMRP), which is required for normal neural development. Fragile x syndrome occurs when FMR1 cannot produce enough FMRP.  

A newly recognized genetic disorder that affects mostly men and causes tremor, loss of coordination, and dementia. Fxtas results from a premutation of the FMR1 gene on the x chromosome. A more extensive mutation in this gene causes fragile x syndrome in children.  

The tactile hallucination or illusion that insects are crawling on the body or under the skin. Hallucination associated with stimulant-induced psychosis in which a person perceives imaginary ants, insects, or snakes crawling under the skin. An itching feeling where the skin feels as if it were covered with insects. Sensation that worms or insects are…

An inexact term referring to a disturbance in the form of thinking rather than to abnormality of content. Disturbance in the normal thinking process in which the person shifts from one idea to other, unrelated ones, unaware of his or her own incoherence.  

A branch of psychiatry that focuses on interrelationships with civil, criminal, and administrative law as well as evaluation and specialized treatment of individuals involved with the legal system or incarcerated in jails, prisons, and forensic psychiatry hospitals. A branch of psychiatry dealing with legal issues related to mental disorders. That branch of psychiatry (or psychology)…

The largest part of the brain that includes the cerebrum, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus and that (especially in higher vertebrates) is the main control center for sensory and associative information processing, visceral functions, and voluntary motor functions. The bulk of the brain. The front part of the brain in an embryo. That part of…