Glossary: Integrative Medicine & Nutrition
Startle Response
An involuntary reflex in reaction to an unexpected stimulus such as a loud noise that occurs in PTSD.
State-Dependent Memory, Learning, and Behavior (SDMLB)
Learning that takes place in one state of consciousness and is stored in that state of consciousness, which later can be accessed only when in that same state.
Stress Hormones
Hormones, such as cortisol, growth hormone, and norepinephrine, that are released by the endocrine system during periods of intense stress.
Stress Process
There are three major aspects of the stress process: 1) an event; 2) perception and appraisal of that event; and 3) psychological and physiological reactions to the event.
Stress Response
The body’s reaction to stress, which involves three phases: the fight or flight/freeze response, adaptation to the source of stress, and then exhaustion. Also called general adaptation syndrome.
Subtle Energy
The traditional subtle energies refer to qi or chi, prana, etheric energy, and homeopathic resonance, and are said to move in the “etheric body.”
Sympathetic Nervous System
The branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for accelerating the heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and raising blood pressure, especially during times of stress.
Synbiotics
Food ingredients or dietary supplements combining probiotics and prebiotics.
Synchrony
The matching of rhythms in the physiological or physical activities of the individuals.
Tao
Pronounced “dow,” a Chinese word meaning “way” that represents the eternal essence of the universe, a concept that gave rise to the religion of Taoism.
Telomeres
A compound structure at the end of a chromosome. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming frayed or tangled. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become slightly shorter, eventually preventing cell division and leading to cell death.
Therapeutic Touch
An energy therapy in which the hands are placed on, or close to, a patient, in order to identify and heal the imbalances in the patient’s energy field.
Traditional Medicine
The sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.
Trance
A somnolent state (as of deep hypnosis) often associated with the theta brain wave.
Transference
The redirection of feelings and desires and especially of those unconsciously retained from childhood toward an authority figure.