[pree-koks] 
[skit-suh-free-nee-uh, -freen-yuh] | 1. | Psychiatry. Also called dementia praecox. a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations. |
| 2. | a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements. |
| dementia prae·cox (prē'kŏks') n. Schizophrenia. No longer in scientific use. [New Latin dēmentia praecox : Latin dēmentia, dementia + Latin praecox, premature.] |
dementia praecox dementia prae·cox (prē'kŏks')
n.
Schizophrenia. No longer in technical use.
schizophrenia schiz·o·phre·ni·a (skĭt'sə-frē'nē-ə, -frěn'ē-ə)
n.
Any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral, or intellectual disturbances. Schizophrenia is often associated with dopamine imbalances in the brain and defects of the frontal lobe and may have an underlying genetic cause.
| schizophrenia (skĭt'sə-frē'nē-ə, skĭt'sə-) Pronunciation Key
Any of a group of psychiatric disorders characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, hallucinations, and psychotic behavior. Schizophrenia is associated with an imbalance of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain and may have an underlying genetic cause. |