psychoactive substance

psychoactive substance
psychotropic substance any chemical compound that affects the mind or mental processes, usually referring to drugs used therapeutically in psychiatry; the major classes are the antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics-sedatives, and mood-stabilizing drugs, but also sometimes used to include other classes of mind-altering substances such as drugs of abuse and some toxins.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • psychoactive substance —    Also known as drug. The term psychoactive substance comes from the Greek noun psuchè (life breath, spirit, soul, mind) and the Latin adjective activus (active). It is used as a generic term for substances which, in a sufficiently high dose,… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • psychoactive substance — noun a drug that can produce mood changes and distorted perceptions • Syn: ↑psychoactive drug, ↑mind altering drug, ↑consciousness altering drug • Hypernyms: ↑drug • Hyponyms: ↑designer drug …   Useful english dictionary

  • psychoactive substance abuse — substance a …   Medical dictionary

  • psychoactive substance dependence — substance d …   Medical dictionary

  • psychoactive substance use disorders — substance use d s …   Medical dictionary

  • Substance abuse — Classification and external resources Comparison of the perceived harm for various psychoactive drugs from a poll among medical psychiatrists specialized in addiction tr …   Wikipedia

  • Psychoactive drug — An assortment of psychoactive drugs A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function,… …   Wikipedia

  • Substance Abuse —    Before the middle of the nineteenth century, the main substance capable of being abused was alcohol. With the rise of such anesthetic gases as ether (first used medically in 1846), of injectable opiate narcotics (after the introduction of the… …   Historical dictionary of Psychiatry

  • substance use disorders — [DSM IV] a subgroup of the substance related disorders (q.v.) in which psychoactive substance use or abuse repeatedly results in significantly adverse consequences. The group comprises substance abuse and substance dependence; specific disorders… …   Medical dictionary

  • substance intoxication — [DSM IV] a type of substance induced disorder comprising reversible, substance specific, maladaptive behavioral or psychological changes directly resulting from the physiologic effects on the central nervous system of recent ingestion of or… …   Medical dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”