'catatonia' definitions:
Definition of 'catatonia'
(from WordNet)
noun
Extreme tonus; muscular rigidity; a common symptom in catatonic schizophrenia
noun
A form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement [syn: catatonic schizophrenia, catatonic type schizophrenia, catatonia]
Definition of 'catatonia'
From: GCIDE
- catatonia \cat`a*ton"ia\ n. [Gr. katatonos, stretching down, depressed, fr. kata` down + to`nos stretching, straining, tone (sound). --Stedman.] (Psychiatry) an abnormal behavioral syndrome characterized by stupor, negativism, and muscular rigidity, sometimes alternating with purposeless excitement, and seen most frequently in schizophrenia; called also catatonic schizophrenia. [PJC]