FDA Approved: Name That Drug
Only FDA-approved medication for irritability associated with autism in children (one of two accepted answers).
What is risperidone or aripiprazole?
This Dutch Post-Impressionist painter produced more than 2,000 works, famously cut part of his own ear after an argument, and wrote letters describing emotional instability and episodes of psychological distress.
Who is Vincent van Gogh?
A patient insists their abusive partner is "the most loving person alive" in one session, then returns the following week describing them as "a monster with no redeeming qualities" — with no apparent awareness of the contradiction.
What is splitting?
Interviewer: “How are you feeling today?”
Patient: “Feeling today.”
“Today.”
“Today.”
What is echolalia?
The legal case establishing duty to warn identifiable victims.
What is Tarasoff?
In Rain Man, Raymond displays savant arithmetic abilities alongside deficits in social reciprocity, rigid routines, and sensory sensitivities. His portrayal is now understood to reflect the broader spectrum of this condition rather than a distinct subtype that no longer exists as a separate DSM diagnosis.
What is autism spectrum disorder (formerly Asperger's disorder)?
This NMDA-modulating intranasal medication received FDA approval for treatment-resistant depression.
What is esketamine?
This president, known for his "fireside chats," concealed a progressive neuromuscular illness from the public throughout his presidency.
Who is FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt)?
During a session, a patient begins speaking in a childlike voice and becomes clinging and tearful after their therapist announces an upcoming two-week vacation.
What is regression?
Interviewer: “What brings you in?”
Patient: “Clock… sock… rock… doctor… locker… because the stars are singing in triangles.”
What is clang association?
This is the key distinction between a treating clinician and a forensic evaluator — the forensic evaluator's primary obligation runs not to the patient's wellbeing, but to this.
What is the court / truth / objectivity (the legal system)?
In Jurassic Park, Dr. Malcolm warns that the scientists were so focused on whether they could create dinosaurs that they never asked whether they should. This tension between scientific capability and ethical restraint is formalized in research ethics under this principle.
What is beneficence / nonmaleficence (or the ethics of research oversight)?
These are the only FDA-approved medications for Tourette syndrome (name one of three).
What are haloperidol, pimozide, and aripiprazole?
This U.S. president was described by friends and biographers as having prolonged periods of profound sadness, social withdrawal, and melancholy throughout adulthood, yet remained politically active and led the country during the a major war.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
A patient with a history of severe childhood neglect dedicates their life to fostering children, deriving genuine satisfaction from meeting needs in others that were never met in themselves.
What is altruism?
Interviewer: “Why did you come to the hospital?”
Patient: “Well first I woke up at 6, then I brushed my teeth, then my wife called, then traffic was bad… anyway eventually I came because I felt depressed.”
What is circumstantiality?
A patient with diabetes states:
“I know insulin lowers blood sugar and untreated diabetes can be dangerous, but I don’t believe I actually have diabetes.”
Which element of capacity is impaired?
What is appreciation?
In 50 First Dates, Lucy cannot form new memories after a traumatic brain injury but retains her personality, procedural skills, and memories from before the accident. She suffers from a fictional condition called Goldfield’s Syndrome. In real-world psychology, this is most closely related this condition.
What is severe anterograde amnesia (usually caused by brain damage to the hippocampus)?
Only FDA-approved medication specifically for binge eating disorder.
What is lisdexamfetamine?
This American chess grandmaster became world champion in 1972, later developed increasingly intense suspicious beliefs about governments and institutions, and spent years avoiding public life.
Who is Bobby Fischer?
A patient describes their childhood as "perfect" and their parents as "completely supportive" — yet their history reveals chronic emotional neglect. They have no conscious awareness of the discrepancy.
What is idealization (with repression)?
Interviewer: “Tell me about your family.”
Patient: “Family reminds me of home. Home is where the heart is. Hearts pump blood. Blood is red. Red means danger.”
What is tangentiality?
Before a criminal trial can proceed, a defendant must meet this two-pronged standard — requiring a factual understanding of the charges and the ability to assist counsel.
What is competency to stand trial (Dusky standard)?
In Joker, the main character, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, displays pathological laughter he cannot control. This involuntary laughing and crying in the absence of corresponding mood is the hallmark feature of this neurological syndrome.
What is pseudobulbar affect (PBA)?
This medication became the first FDA-approved treatment for postpartum depression.
What is brexanolone?
This British monarch experienced recurrent episodes of confusion, disorganized behavior, pressured speech, and periods in which he was reportedly unable to govern—leading to centuries of debate about psychiatric versus medical explanations.
Who is King George III?
A patient describes a traumatic car accident in precise mechanical detail — the angle of impact, the physics of the collision — without any emotional response.
What is isolation of affect?
Interviewer: “How are you feeling?”
Patient: “Blue airplane sadness notebook electricity.”
What is word salad?
This legal doctrine permits involuntary treatment when immediate danger exists despite refusal. The Baker Act is legally grounded in this doctrine.
What is parens patriae / police powers?
In Shutter Island, Teddy Daniels constructs an elaborate alternative identity to avoid confronting a traumatic truth. The mechanism by which an entirely alternate sense of self and narrative is constructed to manage unbearable reality is this.
What is dissociation (dissociative identity / traumatic dissociation)?