Kuwait Board Psychiatry key terms

A chemical released by a neuron at a synapse that carries a signal to another neuron, muscle, or gland. Examples include dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, GABA, and noradrenaline.

The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal system that governs the stress response. The hypothalamus releases CRH, driving ACTH release and then cortisol secretion from the adrenal cortex.

A set of interconnected brain structures, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate cortex, involved in emotion, memory, motivation, and stress responses. It modulates fear learning and reward.

A fixed, false belief held with strong conviction despite clear contradictory evidence and not explained by the person’s cultural or religious background. It is a core psychotic symptom.

A perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the quality of a real sensory experience. It can be auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory.

A person’s awareness and understanding of their illness, its symptoms, need for treatment, and potential consequences. Poor insight is common in psychosis and affects adherence and risk.

A structured clinical assessment of appearance, behaviour, speech, mood and affect, thought, perception, cognition, insight, and risk. It describes the patient’s current psychological functioning at interview.

The eleventh revision of the World Health Organization’s international classification of diseases, including a chapter on mental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental disorders used for diagnosis and health statistics.

The text revision of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition. It provides operational diagnostic criteria widely used in clinical practice, research, and psychiatric training.

A group of psychotic symptoms described by Schneider, including audible thoughts, voices arguing or commenting, thought insertion or withdrawal, and delusional perception. They are suggestive but not diagnostic of schizophrenia.

Reductions in normal functioning such as blunted affect, alogia, avolition, asociality, and anhedonia. They contribute strongly to long-term disability in schizophrenia and respond less well to antipsychotics.

A syndrome of abnormal movement and responsiveness, with features such as stupor, mutism, posturing, waxy flexibility, negativism, or excitement. It occurs in psychotic, mood, medical, and neurological conditions.

A period of at least two weeks with depressed mood or loss of interest plus associated symptoms such as sleep, appetite, energy, concentration, and suicidal thinking, causing significant distress or impairment.

A distinct period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and increased activity lasting at least four days, without marked functional impairment or psychosis. It is characteristic of bipolar II disorder.

The simultaneous presence of manic or hypomanic symptoms during depression, or depressive symptoms during mania or hypomania, without meeting full criteria for the opposite pole.

A sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort peaking within minutes, with symptoms such as palpitations, breathlessness, sweating, trembling, and fear of dying or losing control.

A disorder characterised by recurrent intrusive thoughts, urges, or images (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions) performed to reduce distress or prevent feared outcomes.

A trauma-related disorder with intrusive re-experiencing, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and hyperarousal lasting more than one month and causing impairment.

A reduced response to a substance after repeated use, so that higher doses are needed to achieve the original effect. It can be metabolic, pharmacodynamic, or behavioural.

A cluster of symptoms and signs that follows reduction or cessation of a substance after prolonged heavy use. Features vary by substance and can be medically dangerous, as in alcohol withdrawal.

A severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome with confusion, agitation, tremor, sweating, hallucinations, and autonomic instability, typically beginning 48–96 hours after the last drink and carrying significant mortality.

A persistent pattern of instability in relationships, self-image, and affect, with marked impulsivity and recurrent self-harm or suicidal behaviour beginning by early adulthood.

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, with deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, recklessness, and lack of remorse, often beginning in childhood or adolescence.

Unconscious psychological processes that reduce awareness of conflict or distress, such as denial, projection, rationalisation, and sublimation. They can be adaptive or maladaptive depending on flexibility and context.

A neurodevelopmental disorder with persistent inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is inappropriate for developmental level, begins before age twelve, and impairs functioning in multiple settings.

A neurodevelopmental condition characterised by persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction plus restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or sensory sensitivities, present early in development.

An acute, fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness with altered cognition, usually caused by a medical condition, medication, or substance. It is a medical emergency, especially in older adults.

A progressive decline in two or more cognitive domains, such as memory, language, or executive function, severe enough to interfere with independence in daily activities and not explained by delirium.

Cognitive symptoms resembling dementia, typically due to depression, with prominent apathy, inconsistent memory performance, and often a history of mood disorder. It may improve with treatment of depression.

A condition with one or more distressing physical symptoms accompanied by excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviours about them, causing significant impairment, regardless of whether a medical cause is found.

A disorder with neurological symptoms such as weakness, tremor, or sensory loss that are genuinely experienced but incompatible with recognised neurological disease, often linked to psychological factors.

A potentially life-threatening toxicity from serotonergic drugs, with agitation, confusion, tremor, clonus, hyperreflexia, sweating, and fever. It requires prompt recognition and discontinuation of causative agents.

A rare, life-threatening reaction to dopamine-blocking drugs, with rigidity, fever, autonomic instability, and altered consciousness. It differs from serotonin syndrome, which typically features clonus and hyperreflexia.

A somatic treatment that induces a controlled seizure under anaesthesia and muscle relaxation. It is effective for severe depression, catatonia, and some psychotic disorders.

A structured psychological treatment that identifies and modifies unhelpful thoughts and behaviours. It uses collaborative empiricism, behavioural experiments, and homework to reduce distress and improve functioning.

A collaborative, person-centred counselling style that explores and strengthens a person’s own motivation and commitment to change, using open questions, affirmation, reflection, and summarising while avoiding confrontation.

The displacement of feelings, attitudes, and expectations from important past relationships onto the therapist. Recognising and interpreting it is central to psychodynamic psychotherapy.