Geriatric Psychiatry Glossary
100 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026
mild cognitive impairment
Cognitive decline greater than expected for age but not severe enough to significantly interfere with daily functioning.
hoarding disorder
Persistent difficulty discarding possessions due to perceived need to save them, resulting in accumulation that compromi...
hypnagogic hallucination
Visual or auditory hallucinations that occur during the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
hypnopompic hallucination
Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations that occur during the transition from sleep to wakefulness, commonly experie...
IADL
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, complex daily tasks requiring cognitive and physical abilities, often impaired...
late-onset depression
Major depressive disorder first occurring in individuals aged 60 or older, often with distinct clinical features.
Lewy body dementia
Neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormal protein deposits causing cognitive, motor, and visual symptoms.
logopenia
Reduced verbal output and word-finding difficulties, often an early sign of neurodegenerative disease in elderly patient...
medication adherence
The degree to which a patient correctly follows prescribed medication regimens.
medication reconciliation
Systematic process of obtaining accurate medication histories and resolving discrepancies to prevent adverse drug events...
medication-induced cognitive impairment
Reversible decline in cognitive function caused by medications, particularly common in older adults.
medication-induced delirium
An acute confusional state caused by adverse medication effects, particularly common in elderly patients due to polyphar...
medication-induced parkinsonism
Movement disorder resembling Parkinson's disease caused by medications that block dopamine receptors, common in elderly...
mild cognitive impairment
Cognitive decline greater than expected for age but not severe enough to significantly interfere with daily functioning.
mixed dementia
The co-occurrence of two or more types of dementia pathology in the same patient, most commonly Alzheimer's disease and...
MMSE
Standardized cognitive screening tool used to assess mental status and detect cognitive impairment in elderly patients.
MoCA
Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a brief cognitive screening tool more sensitive to mild cognitive impairment than traditi...
neurocognitive disorder
DSM-5-TR term for conditions characterized by cognitive decline from a previous level of functioning, replacing the term...
neuropsychiatric inventory
Standardized assessment tool measuring behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia patients.
neuropsychiatric symptoms
Behavioral and psychological symptoms that arise from brain dysfunction, commonly seen in dementia and other neurologica...
NMDA receptor antagonist
Type of medication that blocks NMDA receptors to potentially slow cognitive decline in moderate to severe dementia.
NPI
Neuropsychiatric Inventory, a standardized assessment tool for measuring behavioral and psychological symptoms in dement...
paradoxical disinhibition
Unexpected increase in agitation or confusion following administration of sedating medications in elderly patients.
paradoxical reaction
Unexpected opposite response to medication, such as increased agitation from sedatives, particularly common in elderly p...
paraphrenia
Late-onset paranoid psychosis occurring in elderly patients without significant cognitive decline or mood symptoms.