Accountability and responsibility to another, enforceable by civil or criminal sanctions.

Insurance against loss resulting from liability for injury or damage to the persons or property of others.

Failure of a professional person, a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The alterations of modes of medical practice, induced by the threat of liability, for the principal purposes of forestalling lawsuits by patients as well as providing good legal defense in the event that such lawsuits are instituted.

A group of slowly progressive inherited disorders affecting motor and sensory peripheral nerves. Subtypes include HMSNs I-VII. HMSN I and II both refer to CHARCOT-MARIE-TOOTH DISEASE. HMSN III refers to hypertrophic neuropathy of infancy. HMSN IV refers to REFSUM DISEASE. HMSN V refers to a condition marked by a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy associated with spastic paraplegia (see SPASTIC PARAPLEGIA, HEREDITARY). HMSN VI refers to HMSN associated with an inherited optic atrophy (OPTIC ATROPHIES, HEREDITARY), and HMSN VII refers to HMSN associated with retinitis pigmentosa. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1343)

Payment, or other means of making amends, for a wrong or injury.

Disorders affecting TWINS, one or both, at any age.

A semisynthetic derivative of CODEINE.

Narcotic analgesic related to CODEINE, but more potent and more addicting by weight. It is used also as cough suppressant.

Two offspring from the same PREGNANCY. They are from two OVA, fertilized at about the same time by two SPERMATOZOA. Such twins are genetically distinct and can be of different sexes.

Two off-spring from the same PREGNANCY. They are from a single fertilized OVUM that split into two EMBRYOS. Such twins are usually genetically identical and of the same sex.

Two individuals derived from two FETUSES that were fertilized at or about the same time, developed in the UTERUS simultaneously, and born to the same mother. Twins are either monozygotic (TWINS, MONOZYGOTIC) or dizygotic (TWINS, DIZYGOTIC).

Coverage by contract whereby one part indemnifies or guarantees another against loss by a specified contingency.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium.

Disorders related or resulting from abuse or mis-use of opioids.

The science or philosophy of law. Also, the application of the principles of law and justice to health and medicine.

A hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy transmitted most often as an autosomal dominant trait and characterized by progressive distal wasting and loss of reflexes in the muscles of the legs (and occasionally involving the arms). Onset is usually in the second to fourth decade of life. This condition has been divided into two subtypes, hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN) types I and II. HMSN I is associated with abnormal nerve conduction velocities and nerve hypertrophy, features not seen in HMSN II. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1343)

The killing of infants at birth or soon after.

An opioid analgesic made from MORPHINE and used mainly as an analgesic. It has a shorter duration of action than morphine.

A centrally active muscarinic antagonist that has been used in the symptomatic treatment of PARKINSON DISEASE. Benztropine also inhibits the uptake of dopamine.

A 1974 Federal act which preempts states' rights with regard to workers' pension benefits and employee benefits. It does not affect the benefits and rights of employees whose employer is self-insured. (From Slee & Slee, Health Care Reform Terms, 1993)

The observable, measurable, and often pathological activity of an organism that portrays its inability to overcome a habit resulting in an insatiable craving for a substance or for performing certain acts. The addictive behavior includes the emotional and physical overdependence on the object of habit in increasing amount or frequency.

A latent susceptibility to disease at the genetic level, which may be activated under certain conditions.

Legal guarantee protecting the individual from attack on personal liberties, right to fair trial, right to vote, and freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. (from http://www.usccr.gov/ accessed 1/31/2003)

A centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant whose mechanism of action is not completely understood but may be related to its sedative actions. It is used as an adjunct in the symptomatic treatment of musculoskeletal conditions associated with painful muscle spasm. (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1202)

A severe emotional disorder of psychotic depth characteristically marked by a retreat from reality with delusion formation, HALLUCINATIONS, emotional disharmony, and regressive behavior.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

An exaggerated feeling of physical and emotional well-being not consonant with apparent stimuli or events; usually of psychologic origin, but also seen in organic brain disease and toxic states.

Compounds with activity like OPIATE ALKALOIDS, acting at OPIOID RECEPTORS. Properties include induction of ANALGESIA or NARCOSIS.

Pupillary constriction. This may result from congenital absence of the dilatator pupillary muscle, defective sympathetic innervation, or irritation of the CONJUNCTIVA or CORNEA.

The term "United States" in a medical context often refers to the country where a patient or study participant resides, and is not a medical term per se, but relevant for epidemiological studies, healthcare policies, and understanding differences in disease prevalence, treatment patterns, and health outcomes across various geographic locations.

The excessive use of marijuana with associated psychological symptoms and impairment in social or occupational functioning.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Virginia" is not a medical concept or condition that has a defined meaning within the medical field. It is primarily used as a proper noun to refer to a state in the United States, a historical figure, or other non-medical uses.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Fundamental claims of patients, as expressed in statutes, declarations, or generally accepted moral principles. (Bioethics Thesaurus) The term is used for discussions of patient rights as a group of many rights, as in a hospital's posting of a list of patient rights.

The process of minimizing risk to an organization by developing systems to identify and analyze potential hazards to prevent accidents, injuries, and other adverse occurrences, and by attempting to handle events and incidents which do occur in such a manner that their effect and cost are minimized. Effective risk management has its greatest benefits in application to insurance in order to avert or minimize financial liability. (From Slee & Slee: Health care terms, 2d ed)

A legal concept that an accused is not criminally responsible if, at the time of committing the act, the person was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind as not to know the nature and quality of the act done or if the act was known, to not have known that what was done was wrong. (From Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed)

Legal documents that are declarations of individuals' wishes regarding the disposal of their property or estate after death; esp: written instruments, legally executed, by which dispositions are made of estates. LIVING WILLS are written declarations regarding prolongation of life by extraordinary means.

Agents that cause vomiting. They may act directly on the gastrointestinal tract, bringing about emesis through local irritant effects, or indirectly, through their effects on the chemoreceptor trigger zone in the postremal area near the medulla.

A personality disorder in which there are oddities of thought (magical thinking, paranoid ideation, suspiciousness), perception (illusions, depersonalization), speech (digressive, vague, overelaborate), and behavior (inappropriate affect in social interactions, frequently social isolation) that are not severe enough to characterize schizophrenia.

Fixed sums paid regularly to individuals.

Measurable biological (physiological, biochemical, and anatomical features), behavioral (psychometric pattern) or cognitive markers that are found more often in individuals with a disease than in the general population. Because many endophenotypes are present before the disease onset and in individuals with heritable risk for disease such as unaffected family members, they can be used to help diagnose and search for causative genes.

Persons whose profession is to give legal advice and assistance to clients and represent them in legal matters. (American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed)

The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population.

Exploitation through misrepresentation of the facts or concealment of the purposes of the exploiter.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

The aperture in the iris through which light passes.

The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment.

Physiological and psychological symptoms associated with withdrawal from the use of a drug after prolonged administration or habituation. The concept includes withdrawal from smoking or drinking, as well as withdrawal from an administered drug.

A branch of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging and trial of suspected persons, and fixes the penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.

Disease involving the median nerve, from its origin at the BRACHIAL PLEXUS to its termination in the hand. Clinical features include weakness of wrist and finger flexion, forearm pronation, thenar abduction, and loss of sensation over the lateral palm, first three fingers, and radial half of the ring finger. Common sites of injury include the elbow, where the nerve passes through the two heads of the pronator teres muscle (pronator syndrome) and in the carpal tunnel (CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME).

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of genetic processes or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Decisions made by the United States Supreme Court.

The combined effects of genotypes and environmental factors together on phenotypic characteristics.

Review of claims by insurance companies to determine liability and amount of payment for various services. The review may also include determination of eligibility of the claimant or beneficiary or of the provider of the benefit; determination that the benefit is covered or not payable under another policy; or determination that the service was necessary and of reasonable cost and quality.

Innovation and improvement of the health care system by reappraisal, amendment of services, and removal of faults and abuses in providing and distributing health services to patients. It includes a re-alignment of health services and health insurance to maximum demographic elements (the unemployed, indigent, uninsured, elderly, inner cities, rural areas) with reference to coverage, hospitalization, pricing and cost containment, insurers' and employers' costs, pre-existing medical conditions, prescribed drugs, equipment, and services.

A narcotic analgesic that may be habit-forming. It is a controlled substance (opium derivative) listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Parts 329.1, 1308.11 (1987). Sale is forbidden in the United States by Federal statute. (Merck Index, 11th ed)

Hospital or other institutional ethics committees established to consider the ethical dimensions of patient care. Distinguish from ETHICS COMMITTEES, RESEARCH, which are established to monitor the welfare of patients or healthy volunteers participating in research studies.

Drugs obtained and often manufactured illegally for the subjective effects they are said to produce. They are often distributed in urban areas, but are also available in suburban and rural areas, and tend to be grossly impure and may cause unexpected toxicity.

MYELIN-specific proteins that play a structural or regulatory role in the genesis and maintenance of the lamellar MYELIN SHEATH structure.

Bicyclic bridged compounds that contain a nitrogen which has three bonds. The nomenclature indicates the number of atoms in each path around the rings, such as [2.2.2] for three equal length paths. Some members are TROPANES and BETA LACTAMS.

Tobacco used to the detriment of a person's health or social functioning. Tobacco dependence is included.

A general term most often used to describe severe or complete loss of muscle strength due to motor system disease from the level of the cerebral cortex to the muscle fiber. This term may also occasionally refer to a loss of sensory function. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p45)

A specific pair of GROUP E CHROMOSOMES of the human chromosome classification.

The minimum acceptable patient care, based on statutes, court decisions, policies, or professional guidelines.

The complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out in a specific political unit.

An alkaloid ester extracted from the leaves of plants including coca. It is a local anesthetic and vasoconstrictor and is clinically used for that purpose, particularly in the eye, ear, nose, and throat. It also has powerful central nervous system effects similar to the amphetamines and is a drug of abuse. Cocaine, like amphetamines, acts by multiple mechanisms on brain catecholaminergic neurons; the mechanism of its reinforcing effects is thought to involve inhibition of dopamine uptake.

Categorical classification of MENTAL DISORDERS based on criteria sets with defining features. It is produced by the American Psychiatric Association. (DSM-IV, page xxii)

Violation of laws, regulations, or professional standards.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

A loosely defined group of drugs that tend to increase behavioral alertness, agitation, or excitation. They work by a variety of mechanisms, but usually not by direct excitation of neurons. The many drugs that have such actions as side effects to their main therapeutic use are not included here.

Laws and regulations, pertaining to the field of medicine, proposed for enactment or enacted by a legislative body.

A narcotic analgesic morphinan used as a sedative in veterinary practice.

The strengthening of a conditioned response.

A group of two-ring heterocyclic compounds consisting of a benzene ring fused to a diazepine ring.

The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug.

A situation in which an individual might benefit personally from official or professional actions. It includes a conflict between a person's private interests and official responsibilities in a position of trust. The term is not restricted to government officials. The concept refers both to actual conflict of interest and the appearance or perception of conflict.

Persons or animals having at least one parent in common. (American College Dictionary, 3d ed)

Methods of detecting genetic etiology in human traits. The basic premise of twin studies is that monozygotic twins, being formed by the division of a single fertilized ovum, carry identical genes, while dizygotic twins, being formed by the fertilization of two ova by two different spermatozoa, are genetically no more similar than two siblings born after separate pregnancies. (Last, J.M., A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

The level of governmental organization and function below that of the national or country-wide government.

A branch of the tibial nerve which supplies sensory innervation to parts of the lower leg and foot.

Agents that induce NARCOSIS. Narcotics include agents that cause somnolence or induced sleep (STUPOR); natural or synthetic derivatives of OPIUM or MORPHINE or any substance that has such effects. They are potent inducers of ANALGESIA and OPIOID-RELATED DISORDERS.

Disorders related or resulting from use of cocaine.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

Voluntary authorization, by a patient or research subject, with full comprehension of the risks involved, for diagnostic or investigative procedures, and for medical and surgical treatment.

Disorders in which there is a loss of ego boundaries or a gross impairment in reality testing with delusions or prominent hallucinations. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

Child with one or more parents afflicted by a physical or mental disorder.

A primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic. (Morse & Flavin for the Joint Commission of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine to Study the Definition and Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alcoholism: in JAMA 1992;268:1012-4)

A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.

Consumer Product Safety refers to the measures and regulations implemented to ensure household items, toys, and other consumer products are designed, manufactured, and distributed in a manner that minimizes risks of harm, injury, or death to consumers during normal use or foreseeable misuse.

The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental illness.

Drugs that block the transport of DOPAMINE into axon terminals or into storage vesicles within terminals. Most of the ADRENERGIC UPTAKE INHIBITORS also inhibit dopamine uptake.

A characteristic showing quantitative inheritance such as SKIN PIGMENTATION in humans. (From A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)

Stimulation of the brain, which is self-administered. The stimulation may result in negative or positive reinforcement.

Progressive diminution of the susceptibility of a human or animal to the effects of a drug, resulting from its continued administration. It should be differentiated from DRUG RESISTANCE wherein an organism, disease, or tissue fails to respond to the intended effectiveness of a chemical or drug. It should also be differentiated from MAXIMUM TOLERATED DOSE and NO-OBSERVED-ADVERSE-EFFECT LEVEL.

A class of opioid receptors recognized by its pharmacological profile. Mu opioid receptors bind, in decreasing order of affinity, endorphins, dynorphins, met-enkephalin, and leu-enkephalin. They have also been shown to be molecular receptors for morphine.

Presentation of pertinent data by one with special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject.

Agents that control agitated psychotic behavior, alleviate acute psychotic states, reduce psychotic symptoms, and exert a quieting effect. They are used in SCHIZOPHRENIA; senile dementia; transient psychosis following surgery; or MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION; etc. These drugs are often referred to as neuroleptics alluding to the tendency to produce neurological side effects, but not all antipsychotics are likely to produce such effects. Many of these drugs may also be effective against nausea, emesis, and pruritus.

Organizations which assume the financial responsibility for the risks of policyholders.

A major affective disorder marked by severe mood swings (manic or major depressive episodes) and a tendency to remission and recurrence.

A malignant form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia that is characterized by HEART RATE between 200 and 250 beats per minute, and QRS complexes with changing amplitude and twisting of the points. The term also describes the syndrome of tachycardia with prolonged ventricular repolarization, long QT intervals exceeding 500 milliseconds or BRADYCARDIA. Torsades de pointes may be self-limited or may progress to VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION.

Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (MEDICATION ERRORS), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from MALPRACTICE in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent.

Agents inhibiting the effect of narcotics on the central nervous system.

A specialty concerned with the study of anesthetics and anesthesia.

A central nervous system stimulant used most commonly in the treatment of ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER in children and for NARCOLEPSY. Its mechanisms appear to be similar to those of DEXTROAMPHETAMINE. The d-isomer of this drug is referred to as DEXMETHYLPHENIDATE HYDROCHLORIDE.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Promotion and protection of the rights of patients, frequently through a legal process.

The principal alkaloid in opium and the prototype opiate analgesic and narcotic. Morphine has widespread effects in the central nervous system and on smooth muscle.

A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated. These behaviors include aggressive conduct that causes or threatens physical harm to other people or animals, nonaggressive conduct that causes property loss or damage, deceitfulness or theft, and serious violations of rules. The onset is before age 18. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

The sodium salt of 4-hydroxybutyric acid. It is used for both induction and maintenance of ANESTHESIA.

A surgical specialty concerned with the treatment of diseases and disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral and sympathetic nervous system.

A short-acting benzodiazepine used in the treatment of insomnia. Some countries temporarily withdrew triazolam from the market because of concerns about adverse reactions, mostly psychological, associated with higher dose ranges. Its use at lower doses with appropriate care and labeling has been reaffirmed by the FDA and most other countries.

Learning situations in which the sequence responses of the subject are instrumental in producing reinforcement. When the correct response occurs, which involves the selection from among a repertoire of responses, the subject is immediately reinforced.

Revealing of information, by oral or written communication.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

A medical-surgical specialty concerned with the physiology and disorders primarily of the female genital tract, as well as female endocrinology and reproductive physiology.

The different ways GENES and their ALLELES interact during the transmission of genetic traits that effect the outcome of GENE EXPRESSION.

Strong dependence, both physiological and emotional, upon morphine.

Diseases of the peripheral nerves external to the brain and spinal cord, which includes diseases of the nerve roots, ganglia, plexi, autonomic nerves, sensory nerves, and motor nerves.

Marked depression appearing in the involution period and characterized by hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and agitation.

The observable response an animal makes to any situation.

Research that involves the application of the behavioral and social sciences to the study of the actions or reactions of persons or animals in response to external or internal stimuli. (from American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed)

A derivative of the opioid alkaloid THEBAINE that is a more potent and longer lasting analgesic than MORPHINE. It appears to act as a partial agonist at mu and kappa opioid receptors and as an antagonist at delta receptors. The lack of delta-agonist activity has been suggested to account for the observation that buprenorphine tolerance may not develop with chronic use.

Derivative of noroxymorphone that is the N-cyclopropylmethyl congener of NALOXONE. It is a narcotic antagonist that is effective orally, longer lasting and more potent than naloxone, and has been proposed for the treatment of heroin addiction. The FDA has approved naltrexone for the treatment of alcohol dependence.

A state characterized by loss of feeling or sensation. This depression of nerve function is usually the result of pharmacologic action and is induced to allow performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

Individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Truthful revelation of information, specifically when the information disclosed is likely to be psychologically painful ("bad news") to the recipient (e.g., revelation to a patient or a patient's family of the patient's DIAGNOSIS or PROGNOSIS) or embarrassing to the teller (e.g., revelation of medical errors).

The record of descent or ancestry, particularly of a particular condition or trait, indicating individual family members, their relationships, and their status with respect to the trait or condition.

A schedule prescribing when the subject is to be reinforced or rewarded in terms of temporal interval in psychological experiments. The schedule may be continuous or intermittent.

The genetic constitution of the individual, comprising the ALLELES present at each GENETIC LOCUS.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

Substances that do not act as agonists or antagonists but do affect the GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID receptor-ionophore complex. GABA-A receptors (RECEPTORS, GABA-A) appear to have at least three allosteric sites at which modulators act: a site at which BENZODIAZEPINES act by increasing the opening frequency of GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID-activated chloride channels; a site at which BARBITURATES act to prolong the duration of channel opening; and a site at which some steroids may act. GENERAL ANESTHETICS probably act at least partly by potentiating GABAergic responses, but they are not included here.

Strong dependence, both physiological and emotional, upon heroin.

The relating of causes to the effects they produce. Causes are termed necessary when they must always precede an effect and sufficient when they initiate or produce an effect. Any of several factors may be associated with the potential disease causation or outcome, including predisposing factors, enabling factors, precipitating factors, reinforcing factors, and risk factors.

The aggregate business enterprise of agriculture, manufacture, and distribution related to tobacco and tobacco-derived products.

A personality disorder whose essential feature is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. The individual must be at least age 18 and must have a history of some symptoms of CONDUCT DISORDER before age 15. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

The age, developmental stage, or period of life at which a disease or the initial symptoms or manifestations of a disease appear in an individual.

The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.

Nicotine is highly toxic alkaloid. It is the prototypical agonist at nicotinic cholinergic receptors where it dramatically stimulates neurons and ultimately blocks synaptic transmission. Nicotine is also important medically because of its presence in tobacco smoke.

I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Florida" is a geographical location and not a medical term or condition with a specific definition. It is the 27th largest state by area in the United States, located in the southeastern region of the country and known for its diverse wildlife, beautiful beaches, and theme parks. If you have any medical questions or terms that need clarification, please feel free to ask!

The co-inheritance of two or more non-allelic GENES due to their being located more or less closely on the same CHROMOSOME.

A phenyl-piperidinyl-butyrophenone that is used primarily to treat SCHIZOPHRENIA and other PSYCHOSES. It is also used in schizoaffective disorder, DELUSIONAL DISORDERS, ballism, and TOURETTE SYNDROME (a drug of choice) and occasionally as adjunctive therapy in INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY and the chorea of HUNTINGTON DISEASE. It is a potent antiemetic and is used in the treatment of intractable HICCUPS. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1994, p279)

Detection of a MUTATION; GENOTYPE; KARYOTYPE; or specific ALLELES associated with genetic traits, heritable diseases, or predisposition to a disease, or that may lead to the disease in descendants. It includes prenatal genetic testing.

The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members.

Theoretical representations that simulate psychological processes and/or social processes. These include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

The containment, regulation, or restraint of costs. Costs are said to be contained when the value of resources committed to an activity is not considered excessive. This determination is frequently subjective and dependent upon the specific geographic area of the activity being measured. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

One of the catecholamine NEUROTRANSMITTERS in the brain. It is derived from TYROSINE and is the precursor to NOREPINEPHRINE and EPINEPHRINE. Dopamine is a major transmitter in the extrapyramidal system of the brain, and important in regulating movement. A family of receptors (RECEPTORS, DOPAMINE) mediate its action.

A central nervous system stimulant and sympathomimetic with actions and uses similar to DEXTROAMPHETAMINE. The smokable form is a drug of abuse and is referred to as crank, crystal, crystal meth, ice, and speed.

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, institution, university, society, etc., from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions and positions on matters of public interest or social concern. It does not include internal policy relating to organization and administration within the corporate body, for which ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION is available.

Preclinical testing of drugs in experimental animals or in vitro for their biological and toxic effects and potential clinical applications.

Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.

The action of a drug that may affect the activity, metabolism, or toxicity of another drug.

Tests designed to assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors. They are used in diagnosing brain dysfunction or damage and central nervous system disorders or injury.

A strain of albino rat used widely for experimental purposes because of its calmness and ease of handling. It was developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal Company.

Any method used for determining the location of and relative distances between genes on a chromosome.

The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

The development of systems to prevent accidents, injuries, and other adverse occurrences in an institutional setting. The concept includes prevention or reduction of adverse events or incidents involving employees, patients, or facilities. Examples include plans to reduce injuries from falls or plans for fire safety to promote a safe institutional environment.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

Generally refers to the amount of protection available and the kind of loss which would be paid for under an insurance contract with an insurer. (Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms, 2d ed)

The coordination of a sensory or ideational (cognitive) process and a motor activity.

Diseases that are caused by genetic mutations present during embryo or fetal development, although they may be observed later in life. The mutations may be inherited from a parent's genome or they may be acquired in utero.

Drugs that bind to but do not activate DOPAMINE RECEPTORS, thereby blocking the actions of dopamine or exogenous agonists. Many drugs used in the treatment of psychotic disorders (ANTIPSYCHOTIC AGENTS) are dopamine antagonists, although their therapeutic effects may be due to long-term adjustments of the brain rather than to the acute effects of blocking dopamine receptors. Dopamine antagonists have been used for several other clinical purposes including as ANTIEMETICS, in the treatment of Tourette syndrome, and for hiccup. Dopamine receptor blockade is associated with NEUROLEPTIC MALIGNANT SYNDROME.

Continuous frequency distribution of infinite range. Its properties are as follows: 1, continuous, symmetrical distribution with both tails extending to infinity; 2, arithmetic mean, mode, and median identical; and 3, shape completely determined by the mean and standard deviation.

Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.