haloperidol

n. a high-potency antipsychotic of the butyrophenone class, in use in Europe in the 1950s and in the United States from 1965. Haloperidol and other high-potency antipsychotics were preferred over lower potency phenothiazines because of their lack of cardiovascular and anticholinergic effects; however, they were associated more with extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskinesia than lower potency agents. The increased safety profile of the second-generation atypical antipsychotics has led to a decline in use of haloperidol, although it is still used individually and in conjunction with newer agents. Some argue that few differences exist between the newer agents and haloperidol if the latter is used in much lower doses than has been customary. U.S. trade name: Haldol.

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Psychology term of the day

December 21st 2024

family pattern

a characteristic quality of the relationship between the members of a particular family (e.g., between parents and children). Family patterns vary widely in emotional tone and in the attitudes of the members toward each other. Some families are warm, others cool; some are extremely close and symbiotic, in others the members keep each other at a distance; some are open to friends and relatives, others are not; in some, one or more children are accepted and loved, in others one or more children are distanced or otherwise rejected. Such patterns or elements of such patterns may range from nonconscious to fully realized. See also pathogenic family pattern.