Signs and symptoms Contents

Positive and negative[edit]

Sensory symptoms can also be described as positive symptoms, or as negative symptoms depending on whether the symptom is abnormally present such as tingling or itchiness, or abnormally absent such as loss of smell. The following terms are used for negative symptoms – hypoesthesia is a partial loss of sensitivity to moderate stimuli, such as pressure, touch, warmth, cold. Anesthesia is the complete loss of sensitivity to stronger stimuli, such as pinprick. Hypoalgesia (analgesia) is loss of sensation to painful stimuli.^[21] Symptoms are also grouped in to negative and positive for some mental disorders such as schizophrenia.^[22] Positive symptoms are those that are present in the disorder and are not normally experienced by most individuals and reflects an excess or distortion of normal functions.^[23] Examples are hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre behavior. Negative symptoms are functions that are normally found but that are diminished or absent such as apathy and anhedonia.^[23]