flat affect

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Related to flat affect: inappropriate affect, Labile affect

affect

[af´ekt]

the external expression of emotion attached to ideas or mental representations of objects. see also mood.

blunted affect severe reduction in the intensity of affect; a common symptom of schizophrenic disorders.

constricted affect restricted affect.

flat affect lack of emotional expression.

inappropriate affect affect that is incongruent with the situation or with the content of a patient's ideas or speech.

labile affect that characterized by rapid changes in emotion unrelated to external events or stimuli.

restricted affect reduction in the intensity of affect, to a somewhat lesser degree than is characteristic of blunted affect.

flat af·fect

absence of or diminution in the amount of emotional tone or outward emotional reaction typically shown by oneself or others under similar circumstances; a milder form is termed blunted affect.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

flat affect

Psychiatry A marked attenuation of emotional range, a sign often associated with major depression. See Major depression, Schizophrenia.

flat af·fect

(flat a'fekt)

Absence of or diminution in the amount of emotional tone or outward emotional reaction (e.g., facial expression, posture) typically shown by oneself or others under similar circumstances; may include lack of vocal expression; often a symptom of mental disorders; a milder form is termed blunted affect.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

flat af·fect

(flat a'fekt)

Absence of emotional tone or reaction typically shown by oneself or others under similar circumstances.

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

Patient discussion about flat affect

Q. what does the term flat affect means?

A. "Flat affect: A severe reduction in emotional expressiveness. People with depression and schizophrenia often show flat affect. A person with schizophrenia may not show the signs of normal emotion, perhaps may speak in a monotonous voice, have diminished facial expressions, and appear extremely apathetic. Also known as blunted affect."

www.medterms.com :)
couldn't said it better myself...:)

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References in periodicals archive ?

The application of functional MRI can contribute to understanding the neural basis of clinical features of schizophrenia, such as flat affect. "Patients with flat affect showed greater abnormalities in amygdala activation and performed more poorly.

Patients were evaluated using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and 63 patients were found to have flat affect. The majority of those with flat affect were male (75%), which is consistent with earlier studies.

Of the 99 patients without flat affect, 56 were men and 43 were women.

Flat affect tied to functioning in schizophrenia

Structure is what's at issue in Yale Piece (so called because it was made for an exhibition on the Ivy League campus); it's an attempt to breathe expressive life into geometric abstraction, which, with '60s Minimalism, had fallen into the dead end of flat affect. The work makes clear the generally polar architectonics of Tuttle's works: By dint of both color and position, the brightly hued struts are at odds with one another, and the parallel panels are, in turn, at odds with them, making for a certain tension.

Richard Tuttle: Sperone Westwater. (Reviews: New York)

Compared with schizophrenia patients, people with psychotic depression are more likely to have delusions than hallucinations or thought disorder, and their flat affect is not as severe as in schizophrenia.

Look for rigid thinking in psychotic depression

Possible symptom synonyms include lack of interest, lack of feeling, lack of concern, indifference, flat affect, and emotional unresponsiveness.

The diminished goal-directed activity must be manifest in behavioral (e.g., lack of initiative), cognitive (e.g., lack of interests), and emotional (e.g., flat affect) domains.

Should 'apathy' get more attention in DSM-V? Research meeting proposed to identify ways to reliably measure this common presenting symptom

It appeared a child's bedroom was burnt and his entire flat affected by smoke and water, which had filled it.

'Faulty fire alarms' at gutted building

They also had residents with no personality and flat affects. The first thing I did with the medical director was begin reducing haloperidol use.