Narcolepsy Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

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

Autosomal: Pertaining to a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. People normally have 2...

Autosomal dominant: A pattern of inheritance in which an affected individual has one copy ...

Autosomal recessive: A genetic condition that appears only in individuals who have receive...

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

Cataplexy: A debilitating condition in which a person suddenly feels weak and collapses at...

Cerebrospinal fluid: A watery fluid that is continuously produced and absorbed and that fl...

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

Double-blind: Term used to described a study in which both the investigator or the partici...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Electrocardiogram: A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. Abbreviated ECG an...

Electroencephalogram: A technique for studying the electrical currents within the brain. E...

Electromyogram: A test that records the electrical activity of muscles. Normal muscles pro...

Epilepsy (seizure disorder): When nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses...

Excessive daytime sleepiness: A neurological disorder in which there is a sudden recurrent...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

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. ...

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. Also commonly ...

Hypnagogic: Concerning the drowsiness one commonly feels before sleep, the transitional st...

Hypothalamus: The area of the brain that secretes substances that influence pituitary and ...

Idiopathic: Of unknown cause. Any disease that is of uncertain or unknown origin may be te...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

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

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lumbar puncture: A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal...

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

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

Modafinil: An oral drug first approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of narcolepsy,...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Narcolepsy: A neurological disorder that is marked by the recurrent, sudden, uncontrollabl...

Nasal: Having to do with the nose.

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders o...

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

Objective: In a microscope, the objective (also called the objective lens) is the lens nea...

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

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

Pathologic: 1. Indicative of or caused by disease, as in a pathologic fracture, pat...

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

Placebo-controlled: A term used to describe a method of research in which an inactive subs...

Polysomnography: Continuous recording of specific physiologic variables during sleep. Poly...

Recessive: A condition that appears only in individuals who have received two copies of a ...

REM sleep: REM sleep is the portion of sleep when there are rapid eye movements (REMs).

Reuptake: The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced an...

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor: A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

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

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Sleep disorders: Any disorder that affects, disrupts, or involves sleep. The most common...

Sleep hygiene: A series of practices and non-medical treatments for insomnia. Sleep hygien...

Sleep paralysis: A frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person suddenly finds...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

Specificity: 1. The quality of being specific as, for example, she showed the use o...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

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

Symptomatic: 1 With symptoms, as a symptomatic infection. 2 Characteristic o...

Transducer: An instrument that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. A transd...

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...