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Major Depressive Disorder
Mood disorder in which only symptoms of depression occur.
Maladaptive Behavior
Behavior that works against the individual or the group.
Maladjustment
Relative inability or failure of the organism to adapt to the environment.
Mania
An emotional/psychological state characterized by unrealistic feelings of excitement, invincibility, power, energy, intelligence, and euphoria.
MCS
Multiple chemical sensitivity.
Medical Model
The perspective that psychiatric/psychological problems are the result of disordered or abnormal physiology or structure, rather than the result of learning or thinking.
Medication
A chemical substance that has a medical affect on the body. There are a wide variety of classes of medications used to treat anxiety disorders; including benzodiazepines, MAOIs, SRIs, SARIS, SSRIs, SNRIs, and TCAs.
Medicine
An academic discipline devoted to the understanding and treatment of disorders of the human body.
Melancholic Subtype
Subtype of depression that involves a loss of pleasure (anhedonia), sleep problems, changes in eating appetite, motor agitation or retardation, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
Melatonin
A hormone produced by the pineal gland that is derived from serotonin and involved in a number of functions including biological circadian rhythms and sleep.
Migraine
An intensely painful recurring headache that often involves only one side of the head and is often accompanied by nausea and visual disturbance.
Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)
A relatively benign cardiac condition involving a heart valve abnormality. MVP has been associated with autonomic nervous system dysfunction and some anxiety disorders in which case it is referred to as Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome.
Model
An analogy that helps a scientist understand how something works.
Modeling
A powerful form of learning in which ppeople learn by watching someone else (the model) do something.
Monoamines
A class of hormones/neurotransmitters that includes the catecholamines (dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine) and the indoleamines (serotonin and melatonin).
Mood Disorders
Problems characterized by disturbances of mood that are are intense enough to cause suffering and maladaptive behavior.
MVP
Mitral valve prolapse.
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