Glossary
Antipsychotic: drugs used to treat severe mental disordersPsychosis: Mental disturbance of serious magnitude that may be characterized by loss of contact with reality. Delusions and hallucinations are often present
Neurotransmitter: Chemicals that act as messengers between cells in the brain and nervous system; they transmit impulses across the gap from a neuron to another neuron, a muscle, or a gland
Serotonin: A neurotransmitter involved in the processes of sleep and memory, as well as other neurological functions
Dopamine: A chemical that transmits messages in the brain and plays a role in movement
Neuroleptics: Drugs like Anti-psychotics which reduce the features of psychosis
Antidepressant: A drug used to treat depression
Bipolar Disorder: This disorder is characterized by successive feelings of elation and depression
Schizophrenia: The most common form of psychosis, characterized by partial or total withdrawal of interest in the world outside of oneself and loss of intellectual and emotional function
Depression: Mental state of low mood commonly associated with feelings of sadness, emptiness, despair or loss of interest in life or worldly matters
Hallucinations: A perception of something (as a visual image or a sound) with no external cause usually arising from a disorder of the nervous system (as in delirium tremens or in functional psychosis without known neurological disease) or in response to drugs
Delusions: A false, unshakable belief that cannot be corrected with reasoning, and is not in the same social, educational, or cultural background as the patient
Ataxia: Failure of muscle coordination
Parkinson’s disease: A progressive disorder of the nervous system marked by muscle tremors, muscle rigidity, decreased mobility, stooped posture, slow voluntary movements, and a mask-like facial expression
