Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Glossary of Terms

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Addiction: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or a...

ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Affinity: In immunology, the strength of binding interaction between antigen and antibody ...

Agonist: A substance that acts like another substance and therefore stimulates an action. ...

Alternative medicine: Healing arts not taught in traditional Western medical schools that ...

American Academy of Pediatrics: AAP. Its member pediatricians "dedicate their efforts and ...

American Psychiatric Association: A medical specialty society with over 35,000 US and inte...

Amphetamine: A drug that has a stimulant effect on the central nervous system that can be ...

Anorexia: An eating disorder characterized by markedly reduced appetite or total aversion...

Antidepressant: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antisocial personality: See: Antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder: A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Anxiety disorder: A chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense o...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A disorder in which a person is unable to contro...

Biochemical: Relating to biochemistry, the application of the tools and concepts of chemis...

Biofeedback: A method of treatment that uses a monitor to measure patients' physiologic in...

Bipolar disorder: A mood disorder sometimes called manic-depressive illness or manic-depr...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Brain stem: The stem-like part of the base of the brain that is connected to the spinal co...

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Chronic pain: Pain (an unpleasant sense of discomfort) that persists or progresses over ...

Cluster: In epidemiology, an aggregation of cases of a disease or another health-related c...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dopamine: An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain.

DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, the officia...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Dyslexia: A specific developmental disability that alters the way the brain processes writ...

Ear: The hearing organ. There are three sections of the ear, according to the anatomy tex...

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

Euphoria: Elevated mood. Euphoria is a desirable and natural occurrence when it results f...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Family medicine: Also called family practice. The medical specialty which provides continu...

Family therapy: A type of psychotherapy designed to identify family patterns that contribu...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Fatty acid: One of many molecules that are long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in f...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Feedback: Many biologic processes are controlled by feedback, just as the temperature in a...

Fetal alcohol syndrome: The sum total of the damage done to the child before birth as a re...

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nee...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

Hyperactivity: A higher than normal level of activity. An organ can be described as hyper...

Impulsivity: Inclined to act on impulse rather than thought. People who are overly impulsi...

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Inheritance: The transmission of a gene from parent to child. The pattern of inheritance i...

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The ...

Lab test: A test that is done in the laboratory where the appropriate equipment, supplies,...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and t...

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

Neurotransmitter: A chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby transmits an...

NIMH: Stands for the National Institute of Mental Health, one of the National Institutes o...

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Ophthalmic: Pertaining to the eye. For example, an ophthalmic ointment is designed for the...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pathogenesis: The development of a disease and the chain of events leading to that disease...

Pathology: The study of disease. Pathology has been defined as "that branch of medicine...

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Pediatrics: The field of medicine that is concerned with the health of infants, children, ...

Personality disorder: A disorder characterized by the chronic use of mechanisms of coping ...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Physiologic: Something that is normal, that is due neither to anything pathologic nor sign...

Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population having a disease or characterist...

Probability: The likelihood that something will happen. For example, a probability of less...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Psychiatric: Pertaining to or within the purview of psychiatry, the medical specialty conc...

Psychiatrist: A physician who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of m...

Psychiatry: The medical specialty that is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and tr...

Psychosis: In the general sense, a mental illness that markedly interferes with a person'...

Psychotherapy: The treatment of a behavior disorders, mental illness, or any other conditi...

Puberty: Adolescence, the period in which the human body first becomes capable of reproduc...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Rebound: The reversal of response upon withdrawal of a stimulus.

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

Restless legs: See: Restless leg syndrome.

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Schizophrenia: One of several brain diseases whose symptoms may include loss of personalit...

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Short-term memory: A system for temporarily storing and managing information required to ...

Shoulder: A structure made up of two main bones: the scapula (shoulder blade) and the hume...

Sibling: A brother or sister.

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Substance abuse: The excessive use of a substance, especially alcohol or a drug. (There is...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Twitching: : Involuntary contractions of groups of muscle fibers. Also known as fasciculat...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...