n. (in psychiatry) voluntarily assuming and maintaining bizarre or inappropriate postures. It is a feature of *catatonia.
n. a state in which a person becomes mute or stuporous or adopts bizarre postures. The features include waxy flexibility (flexibilitas cerea), in which the limbs may be moved passively by another person into positions that are then retained for hours on end. Other common features include non-goal-directed excitement, *posturing, *negativism, rigidity, and command automatism (automatic compliance with instructions). Catatonia usually occurs in the context of *schizophrenia, but is now rarely seen in developed countries. It remains common in developing countries. Treatment includes high-dose *benzodiazepines and *electroconvulsive therapy. —catatonic adj.... catatonia
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