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opioid use disorder

in DSM–5, a diagnostic category reflecting disordered use of natural opioids (e.g., morphine), semisynthetic derivatives (e.g., heroin), and synthetic compounds with morphinelike effects (e.g., oxycodone). It combines DSM–IV–TR’s separate abuse and dependence diagnoses for these substances, thereby removing opioid abuse and opioid dependence as distinct entities. Mild, moderate, and severe cases of opioid use disorder are determined according to the number of symptoms that individuals using these substances may present (e.g., craving; drug-seeking behavor; social and other dysfunction caused by opioid use; tolerance; withdrawal, etc.); the number ranges from a minimum of two symptoms for mild cases to more than six for severe.

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Psychology term of the day

November 17th 2024

visual area

visual area

any of many regions of the cerebral cortex in which the neurons are primarily sensitive to visual stimulation. Together, all the visual areas comprise the visual cortex. Most visual areas can be distinguished from one another on the basis of their anatomical connections (i.e., their cytoarchitecture) and their specific visual sensitivities. Individual areas are designated by “V” and a number that indicates roughly how distant the area is from striate cortex. See V1; V2; V3; V4; V5.