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herpetic neuralgia

pain associated with shingles, caused by reactivation of the herpes varicella-zoster virus (see herpes infection). Following an attack of chicken pox, the virus lies dormant in a dorsal nerve root and ganglion of the spinal cord; when reactivated, it spreads down the sensory nerve, causing vesicle formation and severe, burning, lancinating pain. This acute pain typically resolves in 3 to 5 weeks, but patients often develop the chronic, debilitating pain known as postherpetic neuralgia.

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Psychology term of the day

March 12th 2025

sequence effect

sequence effect

in within-subjects designs, a difference in scores that emerges because of a particular arrangement of treatments—that is, the presentation of one level of the independent variable has an effect on responses to another level of that variable. A researcher can test for a sequence effect by administering the treatments in various different arrangements (e.g., the arrangement ABC vs. ACB, vs. BCA, and so forth). The sequence effect is not to be confused with the order effect.