rhizotomy

n. a surgical procedure in which a spinal nerve root is severed within the spinal canal. A rhizotomy may be performed for the relief of pain or to control muscle spasms. The different types of rhizotomy include anterior rhizotomy, in which an anterior (motor) spinal nerve is cut; posterior rhizotomy, in which a posterior (sensory) spinal nerve is cut; and trigeminal rhizotomy, in which the sensory root fibers of the trigeminal nerve are transected.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

weapons effect

increased hostility or a heightened inclination to aggression produced by the mere sight of a weapon. If provoked, individuals who have previously been shown a weapon will behave more aggressively than will those who have not. Subsequent research has indicated that this aggressive behavior is primed by the sight or suggestion of weapons (see priming) and that any other object associated with aggression can have the same effect. [identified in 1967 by U.S. psychologists Leonard Berkowitz (1926– ) and Anthony LePage]