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Glossary of Technical Terms
DSM IV exam 1
105
Social Work
Graduate
01/30/2012

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Term
Affect
Definition
by words or behavior designed to negate or to make amends symbolically for unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or actions.
Term
Affect: blunted
Definition
Significant reduction in the intensity of emotional expression.
Term
Affect: flat
Definition
Absence or near absence of any signs of affective expression.
Term
Affect: inappropriate
Definition
Discordance between affective expression and the content of speech or ideation. Doesn’t fit situation or topic.
Term
Affect: labile
Definition
Abnormal variability in affect with repeated, rapid, and abrupt shifts in affective expression. No situational cause.
Term
Affect: restricted or constricted
Definition
Mild reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression.
Term
Agitation (psychomotor agitation)
Definition
Excessive motor activity (external) associated with a feeling of inner tension. The activity is usually nonproductive and repetitious and consists of such behavior as pacing, fidgeting, wringing of the hands, pulling of clothes, and inability to sit still. Can be due to anxiety (internal) as well as medication.
Term
Agonist medication
Definition
A chemical entity extrinsic to endogenously produced substances that acts on a receptor and is capable of producing the maximal effect (on central nervous system) that can be produced by stimulating that receptor. A partial agonist is capable only of producing less than the maximal effect even when given in a concentration sufficient to bind with all available receptors. All substances of abuse.
Term
Antagonist medication
Definition
A chemical entity extrinsic to endogenously produced substances that occupies a receptor, produces no physiologic effects, and prevents endogenous and exogenous chemicals from producing an effect on that receptor. No effect on central nervous system; prevents other substances from having an effect. Ex. Vivitrol, and Trexan.
Term
Agonist/antagonist medication
Definition
A chemical entity extrinsic to endogenously produced substances that acts on a family of receptors (such as mu, delta, and kappa opiate receptors) in such a fashion that it is an agonist or partial agonist on one type of receptor and an antagonist on another. Both of above: ex. Narcan.
Term
Alogia
Definition
An impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing speech and language behavior. There may be brief and concrete replies to questions and restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech; one-word, adolescent answers (poverty of speech--ie. bipolar depressive state). Sometimes the speech is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is overconcrete, overabstract, repetitive, or stereotyped; incoherent story, no "point", rarely answer questions (poverty of content--ie. bipolar manic state). Pervasive and non-situational.
Term
Depersonalization (alterations in perception
Definition
An alteration in the perception or experience of the self so that one feels detached from, and as if one is an outside observer of, one's mental processes or body (e.g., feeling like one is in a dream). Can be from shock. Your reflection feels like a stranger
Term
Derealization
Definition
An alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems strange or unreal (e.g., people may seem unfamiliar or mechanical). Familiar environment feels strange.
Term
Amnesia
Definition
Loss of memory
Term
Anterograde (type of amnesia)
Definition
Loss of memory of events that occur after the onset of the etiological condition or agent.
Term
Retrograde
Definition
Loss of memory of events that occurred before the onset of the etiological condition or agent.
Term
Anxiety
Definition
The apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of dysphoria or somatic symptoms of tension. The focus of anticipated danger may be internal or external. Focused = phobia, everything else = free floating.
Term
Aphasia
Definition
An impairment in the understanding or transmission of ideas by language in any of its forms—reading, writing, or speaking—that is due to injury or disease of the brain centers involved in language.
Term
Aphonia
Definition
An inability to produce speech sounds that require the use of the larynx that is not due to a lesion in the central nervous system. Due to physical impairment.
Term
Ataxia
Definition
Partial or complete loss of coordination of voluntary muscular movement. May have tremors in movement, awkward movement, difficulty with easy tasks. Can be due to medication.
Term
Dyskinesia (kind of ataxia)
Definition
Distortion of voluntary movements (Ataxia) with involuntary muscular activity. (jerks, resting tremor).
Term
Attention
Definition
The ability to focus in a sustained manner on a particular stimulus or activity. A disturbance in attention may be manifested by easy distractibility or difficulty in finishing tasks or in concentrating on work.
Term
Avolition
Definition
An inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities. When severe enough to be considered pathological, avolition is pervasive and prevents the person from completing many different types of activities (e.g., work, intellectual pursuits, self-care). Lack of desire/motivation.
Term
Cataplexy
Definition
Episodes of sudden bilateral loss of muscle tone resulting in the individual collapsing, often in association with intense emotions such as laughter, anger, fear, or surprise. Swooning/fainting.
Term
Catatonic behavior
Definition
Marked motor abnormalities including motoric immobility (i.e., catalepsy or stupor), certain types of excessive motor activity (apparently purposeless agitation not influenced by external stimuli), extreme negativism (apparent motiveless resistance to instructions or attempts to be moved) or mutism, posturing or stereotyped movements, and echolalia or echopraxia. May continue for hours.
Term
Catalepsy (catatonic behavior)
Definition
Waxy flexibility—rigid maintenance of a body position over an extended period of time. Resist their position being moved.
Term
Echolalia (catatonic behavior)
Definition
The pathological, parrotlike, and apparently senseless repetition (echoing) of a word or phrase just spoken by another person.
Term
Echopraxia (Catatonic behavior)
Definition
Repetition by imitation of the movements of another. The action is not a willed or voluntary one and has a semiautomatic and uncontrollable quality.
Term
Stupor (catatonic behavior)
Definition
A state of unresponsiveness with immobility and mutism.
Term
Nystagmus (movement related)
Definition
Involuntary rhythmic movements of the eyes that consist of small-amplitude rapid tremors in one direction and a larger, slower, recurrent sweep in the opposite direction. Nystagmus may be horizontal, vertical, or rotary.
Term
Psychomotor retardation(movement related)
Definition
Visible generalized slowing of movements and speech.
Term
Stereotyped movements(movement related)
Definition
Repetitive, seemingly driven, and nonfunctional motor behavior (e.g., hand shaking or waving, body rocking, head banging, mouthing of objects, self-biting, picking at skin or body orifices, hitting one's own body).
Term
Tic(movement related)
Definition
An involuntary, sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization.
Term
Conversion symptom
Definition
A loss of, or alteration in, voluntary motor or sensory functioning suggesting a neurological or general medical condition. Psychological factors are judged to be associated with the development of the symptom, and the symptom is not fully explained by a neurological or general medical condition or the direct effects of a substance. The symptom is not intentionally produced or feigned and is not culturally sanctioned.
Term
Defense mechanism
Definition
Automatic psychological process that protects the individual against anxiety and from awareness of internal or external stressors or dangers. Defense mechanisms mediate the individual's reaction to emotional conflicts and to external stressors. Some defense mechanisms (e.g., projection, splitting, and acting out) are almost invariably maladaptive. Others, such as suppression and denial, may be either maladaptive or adaptive, depending on their severity, their inflexibility, and the context in which they occur. Definitions of specific defense mechanisms and how they would be recorded using the Defensive Functioning Scale are presented in Defensive Functioning Scale.
Term
Delusion
Definition
A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not one ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture (e.g., it is not an article of religious faith). When a false belief involves a value judgment, it is regarded as a delusion only when the judgment is so extreme as to defy credibility. Delusional conviction occurs on a continuum and can sometimes be inferred from an individual's behavior. It is often difficult to distinguish between a delusion and an overvalued idea (in which case the individual has an unreasonable belief or idea but does not hold it as firmly as is the case with a delusion). Delusions are subdivided according to their content. Some of the more common types are listed below:
Term
Bizarre (delusion)
Definition
A delusion that involves a phenomenon that the person's culture would regard as totally implausible. All delusions are either bizarre or not.
Term
Delusional jealousy(delusion)
Definition
The delusion that one's sexual partner is unfaithful.
Term
Erotomanic(delusion)
Definition
A delusion that another person, usually of higher status, is in love with the individual.
Term
Grandiose(delusion)
Definition
A delusion of inflated worth, power, knowledge, identity, or special relationship to a deity or famous person.
Term
of being controlled(delusion)
Definition
A delusion in which feelings, impulses, thoughts, or actions are experienced as being under the control of some external force rather than being under one's own control.
Term
of reference(delusion)
Definition
A delusion whose theme is that events, objects, or other persons in one's immediate environment have a particular and unusual significance. These delusions are usually of a negative or pejorative nature, but also may be grandiose in content. This differs from an idea of reference, in which the false belief is not as firmly held nor as fully organized into a true belief.
Term
persecutory(delusion)
Definition
A delusion in which the central theme is that one (or someone to whom one is close) is being attacked, harassed, cheated, persecuted, or conspired against.
Term
somatic (delusion)
Definition
A delusion whose main content pertains to the appearance or functioning of one's body. Ie. Missing organ, pregnant…etc. (inside body; tactile delusion has to do with skin).
Term
Thought broadcasting(delusion)
Definition
The delusion that one's thoughts are being broadcast out loud so that they can be perceived by others.
Term
Thought insertion(delusion)
Definition
The delusion that certain of one's thoughts are not one's own, but rather are inserted into one's mind.
Term
Grandiosity (less than delusions)
Definition
An inflated appraisal of one's worth, power, knowledge, importance, or identity. When extreme, grandiosity may be of delusional proportions.
Term
Ideas of reference (less than delusions)
Definition
The feeling that casual incidents and external events have a particular and unusual meaning that is specific to the person. This is to be distinguished from a delusion of reference, in which there is a belief that is held with delusional conviction.
Term
overvalued idea(less than delusions)
Definition
An unreasonable and sustained belief that is maintained with less than delusional intensity (i.e., the person is able to acknowledge the possibility that the belief may not be true). The belief is not one that is ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture.
Term
paranoid ideation(less than delusions)
Definition
Ideation, of less than delusional proportions, involving suspiciousness or the belief that one is being harassed, persecuted, or unfairly treated.
Term
Derailment
Definition
("loosening of associations") A pattern of speech in which a person's ideas slip off one track onto another that is completely unrelated or only obliquely related. In moving from one sentence or clause to another, the person shifts the topic idiosyncratically from one frame of reference to another and things may be said in juxtaposition that lack a meaningful relationship. This disturbance occurs between clauses, in contrast to incoherence, in which the disturbance is within clauses. An occasional change of topic without warning or obvious connection does not constitute derailment. (related to Alogia – poverty of content).
Term
Flight of ideas(patterns of speech)
Definition
A nearly continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic that are usually based on understandable associations, distracting stimuli, or plays on words. When severe, speech may be disorganized and incoherent. (related to derailment)
Term
pressured speech(patterns of speech)
Definition
Speech that is increased in amount, accelerated, and difficult or impossible to interrupt. Usually it is also loud and emphatic. Frequently the person talks without any social stimulation and may continue to talk even though no one is listening.
Term
Incoherence (patterns of speech)
Definition
Speech or thinking that is essentially incomprehensible to others because words or phrases are joined together without a logical or meaningful connection. This disturbance occurs within clauses, in contrast to derailment, in which the disturbance is between clauses. This has sometimes been referred to as "word salad" to convey the degree of linguistic disorganization. Mildly ungrammatical constructions or idiomatic usages characteristic of particular regional or cultural backgrounds, lack of education, or low intelligence should not be considered incoherence. The term is generally not applied when there is evidence that the disturbance in speech is due to an aphasia.
Term
disorientation
Definition
Confusion about the time of day, date, or season (time), where one is (place), or who one is (person).
Term
Dissociation
Definition
A disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment. The disturbance may be sudden or gradual, transient or chronic.
Term
Distractibility
Definition
The inability to maintain attention, that is, the shifting from one area or topic to another with minimal provocation, or attention being drawn too frequently to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli. (changing what or whom you’re focused on – like a dog or squirrel; related to Avolition)
Term
Dysarthria
Definition
Imperfect articulation of speech due to disturbances of muscular control. (neurological cause).
Term
Dyssomnia
Definition
Primary disorders of sleep or wakefulness characterized by insomnia or hypersomnia as the major presenting symptom. Dyssomnias are disorders of the amount, quality, or timing of sleep.
Term
Hypersomnia (dyssomnia)
Definition
Excessive sleepiness, as evidenced by prolonged nocturnal sleep, difficulty maintaining an alert awake state during the day, or undesired daytime sleep episodes.
Term
Insomnia(dyssomnia)
Definition
A subjective complaint of difficulty falling or staying asleep or poor sleep quality. Types of insomnia include
Term
Initial insomnia
Definition
Difficulty in falling asleep.
Term
Middle insomnia
Definition
Awakening in the middle of the night followed by eventually falling back to sleep, but with difficulty.
Term
Terminal insomnia
Definition
Awakening before one's usual waking time and being unable to return to sleep.
Term
Parasomnia(dyssomnia)
Definition
Abnormal behavior or physiological events occurring during sleep or sleep-wake transitions. (spasms, breathing trouble)
Term
Dystonia
Definition
Disordered tonicity of muscles. A movement disorder that causes the muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily.
Term
Flashback
Definition
A recurrence of a memory, feeling, or perceptual experience from the past.
Term
Gender dysphoria
Definition
A persistent aversion toward some or all of those physical characteristics or social roles that connote one's own biological sex.
Term
Gender Identity
Definition
A person's inner conviction of being male or female.
Term
Gender role
Definition
Attitudes, patterns of behavior, and personality attributes defined by the culture in which the person lives as stereotypically "masculine" or "feminine" social roles.
Term
Intersex condition
Definition
A condition in which an individual shows intermingling, in various degrees, of the characteristics of each sex, including physical form, reproductive organs, and sexual behavior.
Term
Sex
Definition
A person's biological status as male, female, or uncertain. Depending on the circumstances, this determination may be based on the appearance of the external genitalia or on karyotyping.
Term
Transsexualism
Definition
Severe gender dysphoria, coupled with a persistent desire for the physical characteristics and social roles that connote the opposite biological sex.
Term
Hallucination
Definition
A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ. Hallucinations should be distinguished from illusions, in which an actual external stimulus is misperceived or misinterpreted. The person may or may not have insight into the fact that he or she is having a hallucination. One person with auditory hallucinations may recognize that he or she is having a false sensory experience, whereas another may be convinced that the source of the sensory experience has an independent physical reality. The term hallucination is not ordinarily applied to the false perceptions that occur during dreaming, while falling asleep (hypnagogic), or when awakening (hypnopompic). Transient hallucinatory experiences may occur in people without a mental disorder. Types of hallucinations include
Term
Auditory (hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving the perception of sound, most commonly of voices. Some clinicians and investigators would not include those experiences perceived as coming from inside the head and would instead limit the concept of true auditory hallucinations to those sounds whose source is perceived as being external. However, as used in DSM-IV, no distinction is made as to whether the source of the voices is perceived as being inside or outside of the head.
Term
Gustatory(hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving the perception of taste (usually unpleasant).
Term
Olfactory(hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving the perception of odor, such as of burning rubber or decaying fish.
Term
Somatic(hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving the perception of a physical experience localized within the body (such as a feeling of electricity). A somatic hallucination is to be distinguished from physical sensations arising from an as-yet undiagnosed general medical condition, from hypochondriacal preoccupation with normal physical sensations, and from a tactile hallucination.
Term
Tactile(hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving the perception of being touched or of something being under one's skin. The most common tactile hallucinations are the sensation of electric shocks and formication (the sensation of something creeping or crawling on or under the skin).
Term
Visual(hallucination)
Definition
A hallucination involving sight, which may consist of formed images, such as of people, or of unformed images, such as flashes of light. Visual hallucinations should be distinguished from illusions, which are misperceptions of real external stimuli.
Term
Hyperacusis
Definition
Painful sensitivity to sounds.
Term
Illusion
Definition
A misperception or misinterpretation of a real external stimulus, such as hearing the rustling of leaves as the sound of voices. See also hallucination.
Term
Magical thinking
Definition
The erroneous belief that one's thoughts, words, or actions will cause or prevent a specific outcome in some way that defies commonly understood laws of cause and effect. Magical thinking may be a part of normal child development.
Term
Mood
Definition
A pervasive and sustained emotion that colors the perception of the world. Common examples of mood include depression, elation, anger, and anxiety. In contrast to affect, which refers to more fluctuating changes in emotional "weather," mood refers to a more pervasive and sustained emotional "climate." Types of mood include
Term
Dysphoric (mood)
Definition
An unpleasant mood, such as sadness, anxiety, or irritability.
Term
Elevated(mood)
Definition
An exaggerated feeling of well-being, or euphoria or elation. A person with elevated mood may describe feeling "high,""ecstatic,""on top of the world," or "up in the clouds."
Term
Euthymic(mood)
Definition
Mood in the "normal" range, which implies the absence of depressed or elevated mood.
Term
Expansive(mood)
Definition
Lack of restraint in expressing one's feelings, frequently with an overvaluation of one's significance or importance.
Term
Irritable(mood)
Definition
Easily annoyed and provoked to anger.
Term
Mood-congruent psychotic features
Definition
Delusions or hallucinations whose content is entirely consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood. If the mood is depressed, the content of the delusions or hallucinations would involve themes of personal inadequacy, guilt, disease, death, nihilism, or deserved punishment. The content of the delusion may include themes of persecution if these are based on self-derogatory concepts such as deserved punishment. If the mood is manic, the content of the delusions or hallucinations would involve themes of inflated worth, power, knowledge, or identity, or a special relationship to a deity or a famous person. The content of the delusion may include themes of persecution if these are based on concepts such as inflated worth or deserved punishment.
Term
Mood-incongruent psychotic features
Definition
Delusions or hallucinations whose content is not consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood. In the case of depression, the delusions or hallucinations would not involve themes of personal inadequacy, guilt, disease, death, nihilism, or deserved punishment. In the case of mania, the delusions or hallucinations would not involve themes of inflated worth, power, knowledge, or identity, or a special relationship to a deity or a famous person. Examples of mood-incongruent psychotic features include persecutory delusions (without self-derogatory or grandiose content), thought insertion, thought broadcasting, and delusions of being controlled whose content has no apparent relationship to any of the themes listed above.
Term
Panic attacks
Definition
Delusions or hallucinations whose content is not consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood. In the case of depression, the delusions or hallucinations would not involve themes of personal inadequacy, guilt, disease, death, nihilism, or deserved punishment. In the case of mania, the delusions or hallucinations would not involve themes of inflated worth, power, knowledge, or identity, or a special relationship to a deity or a famous person. Examples of mood-incongruent psychotic features include persecutory delusions (without self-derogatory or grandiose content), thought insertion, thought broadcasting, and delusions of being controlled whose content has no apparent relationship to any of the themes listed above.
Term
Personality
Definition
Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself. Personality traits are prominent aspects of personality that are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts. Only when personality traits are inflexible and maladaptive and cause either significant functional impairment or subjective distress do they constitute a Personality Disorder.
Term
Phobia
Definition
A persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation (the phobic stimulus) that results in a compelling desire to avoid it. This often leads either to avoidance of the phobic stimulus or to enduring it with dread.
Term
Psychomotor agitation
Definition
see agitation
Term
Psychotic
Definition
This term has historically received a number of different definitions, none of which has achieved universal acceptance. The narrowest definition of psychotic is restricted to delusions or prominent hallucinations, with the hallucinations occurring in the absence of insight into their pathological nature. A slightly less restrictive definition would also include prominent hallucinations that the individual realizes are hallucinatory experiences. Broader still is a definition that also includes other positive symptoms of Schizophrenia (i.e., disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior). Unlike these definitions based on symptoms, the definition used in DSM-II and ICD-9 was probably far too inclusive and focused on the severity of functional impairment, so that a mental disorder was termed psychotic if it resulted in "impairment that grossly interferes with the capacity to meet ordinary demands of life." Finally, the term has been defined conceptually as a loss of ego boundaries or a gross impairment in reality testing.
Based on their characteristic features, the different disorders in DSM-IV emphasize different aspects of the various definitions of psychotic.
Term
Residual phase
Definition
The phase of an illness that occurs after remission of the florid symptoms or the full syndrome.
Term
Prodrome
Definition
An early or premonitory sign or symptom of a disorder.
Term
Sign
Definition
An objective manifestation of a pathological condition. Signs are observed by the examiner rather than reported by the affected individual.
Term
Symptom
Definition
A subjective manifestation of a pathological condition. Symptoms are reported by the affected individual rather than observed by the examiner.
Term
Syndrome
Definition
A grouping of signs and symptoms, based on their frequent co-occurrence, that may suggest a common underlying pathogenesis, course, familial pattern, or treatment selection.
Term
stressor, psychosocial
Definition
Any life event or life change that may be associated temporally (and perhaps causally) with the onset, occurrence, or exacerbation of a mental disorder.
Term
Synesthesia
Definition
A condition in which a sensory experience associated with one modality occurs when another modality is stimulated, for example, a sound produces the sensation of a particular color.
Term
Macropsia (visual perception)
Definition
The visual perception that objects are larger than they actually are.
Term
Micropsia
Definition
The visual perception that objects are smaller than they actually are.
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