Definitions

Question 1

Adjunct Therapy

Answer 1

Combination drug therapy used when a patient’s condition does not respond adequately to a single drug (mono therapy), or used when a given combination of medications is known to have therapeutic benefits over a single drug

Question 2

Affective Disorders

Answer 2

Emotional disorders that are characterized by changes in mood

Question 3

Agoraphobia

Answer 3

Fear of leaving the familiar setting of home

Question 4

Akathisia

Answer 4

Motor restlessness. A distressing experience of uncontrollable muscular movements that can occur as an adverse effect of many psychotropic medications

Question 5

Antihistamine

Answer 5

Any substance capable of reducing the physiological and pharmacological effects of histamine, including a wide variety of drugs that block histamine receptors

Question 6

Antipsychotic

Answer 6

A medication that counteracts or diminishes symptoms of psychosis; also called a neuroleptic

Question 7

Anxiety

Answer 7

The unpleasant state of mind in which real or imagined dangers are anticipated or exaggerated

Question 8

Anxiolytic

Answer 8

Capable of reducing anxiety; usually said of a medication

Question 9

Benzodiazepine

Answer 9

A chemical category of drugs most frequently prescribed as sedative-hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs; the most common group of psychotropic drugs currently prescribed to alleviate anxiety

Question 10

Biogenic amine hypothesis (BAH)

Answer 10

Theory suggesting that depression and mania result from alteration in neuronal and synaptic amine concentrations, primarily the catecholines dopamine and norepinephrine, as well as the indolamines serotonin and histamine

Question 11

Bipolar Disorder (BPD)

Answer 11

A major psychological disorder characterized by episodes if mania or hypomania, cycling with depression

Question 12

Depression

Answer 12

An abnormal emotional state characterized by exaggerated feelings of sadness, melancholy, dejection, worthlessness,emptiness, and hopelessness that are inappropriate and out of proportion of reality

Question 13

Dopamine hypothesis

Answer 13

Theory that dopamine dysregulation in certain parts of the brain is one of the primary contributing factors to the development of psychotic disorders (psychoses)

Question 14

Dysregulation hypothesis

Answer 14

Theory that depression and affective disorders are not simply the result of decreased or increased catecholamine and serotonin activity but failures of the regulation of theses systems

Question 15

Extrapyramidal symptoms

Answer 15

Symptoms arising adjacent to the pyramidal portions of the brain

Question 16

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Answer 16

An inhibitory amino acid in the brain that functions to inhibit nerve transmission in the central nervous system (CNS)

Question 17

Mania

Answer 17

A state characterized by an expansive emotional state; extreme excitement; excessive elation; hyperactivity; agitation; over talkativeness; flight of ideas; increased psychomotor activity; fleeting attention; and sometimes violent, destructive, and self-destructive behaviour

Question 18

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)

Answer 18

Any of a heterogeneous group of drugs used primarily in the treatment of depression

Question 19

Monotherapy

Answer 19

Pharmacological therapy involving a single medication for a specific condition

Question 20

Neurotransmitter

Answer 20

Endogenous chemical in the body that serves to conduct nerve impulses between nerve cells (neurons)

Question 21

Psychosis

Answer 21

(Plural: psychoses) A syndrome consisting of a cluster of manifestations commonly associated with one or more mental health disorders

Question 22

Psychotherapeutics

Answer 22

The therapy of emotional and mental health disorders, which may involve drug therapy (pharmacotherapy), a variety of counselling techniques, recreation therapy, and, in extreme cases, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Question 23

Psychotropic

Answer 23

Capable of affecting mental processes; usually said of a medication

Question 24

Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)

Answer 24

Any of a heterogeneous group of newer medications used to treat depression and certain mental health disorders and that work by selectively reducing postsynaptic reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain; also called serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor

Question 25

Stigma

Answer 25

Widespread negative perceptions of and prejudice toward a specific group of people such as those with mental health disorders

Question 26

Tardive dyskinesia

Answer 26

A serious drug adverse effect involving disordered body movements and muscle tension that is associated with antipsychotic medications

Question 27

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)

Answer 27

A chemical class of antidepressant drugs with a distinctive three-ring segment in their chemical structure and that are used to block reuptake of the amine neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine