Korsakoff's psychosis

psychosis /psy·cho·sis/ (si-ko´sis) pl. psycho´ses   any major mental disorder of organic or emotional origin marked by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality, with delusions and hallucinations and often with incoherent speech, disorganized and agitated behavior, or illusions. Cf. neurosis.

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alcoholic psychoses  those associated with excessive use of alcohol and involving organic brain damage.

bipolar psychosis  see under disorder.

brief reactive psychosis  an episode of brief psychotic disorder that is a reaction to a recognizable, distressing life event.

Korsakoff's psychosis  see under syndrome.

senile psychosis  depressive or paranoid delusions or hallucinations or other mental disorders associated with degeneration of the brain in old age, as in senile dementia.

symbiotic psychosis , symbiotic infantile psychosis a condition seen in two- to four-year-old children having an abnormal relationship to the mothering figure, characterized by intense separation anxiety, severe regression, giving up of useful speech, and autism.

toxic psychosis  one due to the ingestion of toxic agents or to the presence of toxins within the body.

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Korsakoff's psychosis

[kôr′səkôfs]

Etymology: Sergei S. Korsakoff, Russian psychiatrist, 1854-1900

a form of amnesia often seen in chronic alcoholics that is characterized by a loss of short-term memory and an inability to learn new skills. The person is usually disoriented, may present with delirium and hallucinations, and confabulates to conceal the condition. The cause of the condition can often be traced to degenerative changes in the thalamus as a result of a deficiency of B complex vitamins, especially thiamine and B₁₂. Deficits are often permanent. Compare Wernicke's encephalopathy.

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psychosis [si-ko´sis] (pl. psycho´ses)

a state in which a person's mental capacity to recognize reality, communicate, and relate to others is impaired, thus interfering with the capacity to deal with life demands. adj. adj psychot´ic. Mental disorders in which psychotic symptoms may be present include mood disorders, schizophrenia, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorders, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, shared psychotic disorder, and pervasive developmental disorders.

alcoholic p's psychoses associated with alcohol use and involving organic brain damage, a category that includes alcohol withdrawal delirium, Korsakoff's syndrome, alcoholic hallucinosis, and alcoholic paranoia (concurrent paranoia and alcoholism).

brief reactive psychosis an episode of brief psychotic disorder that is a reaction to a recognizable and distressing life event.

depressive psychosis older term for a psychosis characterized by severe depression, which is now more commonly described as a form of major depressive disorder.

Korsakoff's psychosis Korsakoff's syndrome.

postpartum psychosis a psychotic episode occurring during the postpartum period.

senile psychosis depressive or paranoid delusions or hallucinations or similar mental disorders due to degeneration of the brain in old age, as in senile dementia.

toxic psychosis that due to ingestion of toxic agents or to the presence of toxins within the body.