Entry: catalepsy (n.)
In context: "...the increasing emotional abstraction, poverty of affect, and then total emotional catalepsy..."
Definition: A disease characterized by a seizure or trance, lasting for hours or days, with suspension of sensation and consciousness.
Other: Holy, is this ever fascinating (italics mine):
Wikipedia:
Catalepsy is a symptom of certain nervous disorders or conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. It is also a characteristic symptom of cocaine withdrawal. It can be caused by schizophrenia treatment with anti-psychotics, such as haloperidol, and by the anesthetic ketamine. In some cases, isolated cataleptic instances can also be precipitated by extreme emotional shock – one well known example of this was the reaction of 1968 Olympic long jump medalist Bob Beamon on understanding that he had broken the previous world record by over 0.5 meters (2 feet). Protein kinase A has been suggested as a mediator of cataleptic behavior. Other causes of catalepsy include reuptake inhibitors of adrenergic neurotransmitters such as Reserpine.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 5
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
Definitive Jest is a vocabulary-building and SNOOT-approved word-of-the-day blog centered around David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.
No comments:
Post a Comment