aberration (redirected from mental aberration)

aberration /ab·er·ra·tion/ (-shun)

1. deviation from the normal or usual.

2. unequal refraction or focalization of a lens.

3. in cardiology, aberrant conduction.

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chromatic aberration  unequal refraction of light rays of different wavelength, producing a blurred image with fringes of color.

chromosome aberration  an irregularity in the number or structure of chromosomes, usually a gain, loss, exchange, or alteration of sequence of genetic material, which often alters embryonic development.

intraventricular aberration  aberrant conduction within the ventricles of an impulse generated in the supraventricular region, excluding abnormalities due to fixed organic defects in conduction.

mental aberration  any pathological deviation from normal mental activity, usually limited to a circumscribed deviation in an otherwise adapted individual.

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ab·er·ra·tion (b-rshn)

n.

1. A departure from the normal or typical.

2. A psychological disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state.

3. A defect of focus, such as blurring in an image.

4. An imperfect image caused by a physical defect in an optical element, as in a lens.

5. A deviation in the normal genetic structure or number of chromosomes in an organism.

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aberration

1. deviation from the normal or usual.

2. imperfect refraction or focalization of a lens, e.g. the lens of the eye.

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chromatic aberration

inability to focus a pencil of light through a lens because of the different refrangibilities of the colored constituents of white light. In an optical instrument such as a microscope this represents an error in the lens system.

spherical aberration

that due to failure of a spherical mirror to focus all the light rays at one point; a fault of construction in an optical instrument.