scopolamine

n. an anticholinergic drug found as an alkaloid in henbane and related plants. Its most common therapeutic use is for the prevention of motion sickness; in the past, it was sometimes used in labor to produce twilight sleep (a conscious but drowsy state with lack of sensitivity to pain) and amnesia for the event. Small doses can have a sedative effect, but large doses may cause restlessness, agitation, or delirium. Also called hyoscine. U.S. trade names: Scopace; Transderm-Scop.

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Psychology term of the day

February 21st 2025

reactive coping

a stress-management strategy that involves efforts to deal with a past or present stressful situation (e.g., marital dissolution, losing one’s job) by compensating for or accepting the associated harm or loss. Reactive coping may also involve efforts to readjust goals, find benefit, or search for meaning. One of four types of coping proposed by German psychologists Ralf Schwarzer (1943– ) and Nina Knoll, reactive coping may be problem-focused, emotion-focused, or social-relation-focused. See also anticipatory coping; preventive coping; proactive coping.