Habituation Health Dictionary

A behavioural response or practice that is established by the individual frequently repeating the same act. The process is called habituation, and the more a person is exposed to a particular stimulus, the less is he or she aroused by it. People may also become habituated to certain drugs, requiring more and more of a substance to produce the same e?ect – a process known as TOLERANCE.... habit

Enlargement of one or both breasts in the male, due, in some cases, to an excess of the female sex hormone oestrogen in the blood.

Mild, temporary gynaecomastia can occur at birth as a result of maternal hormones, and it is common at puberty.

Gynaecomastia developing in later life may be due to chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis. Hormone secreting tumours such as pituitary or testicular tumours may also be a cause.

Adult gynaecomastia, which sometimes occurs in only one breast, can also occur when synthetic hormones and some drugs, such as digoxin, spironolactone, and cimetidine, change the balance of sex hormones. Rarely, a discrete lump that develops on one breast may be due to a male breast cancer.

Investigation may involve blood tests. If cancer is suspected, a biopsy will be performed. Treatment depends on the cause. If a drug is responsible, an alternative will be prescribed if possible. If there is no underlying disease, swelling usually subsides without treatment. Cosmetic surgery may be considered in severe cases (see mammoplasty).

H2-receptor antagonists A common abbreviation for histamine2-receptor antagonists, a group of ulcer-healing drugs. (See also cimetidine; ranitidine; famotidine.) habituation The process of becoming accustomed to an experience. In general, the more a person is exposed to a stimulus, the less he or she is affected by it. People can become habituated to certain drugs and develop a reduced response to their effects (see tolerance).... gynaecomastia

n. (in behaviour therapy) a method of treating fears and phobias that involves confronting the individual with the situation he has been avoiding, so allowing the fears to wane by *habituation. It can be achieved gradually by *desensitization or *graded self-exposure or suddenly by *flooding.... exposure

a technique used in the *behaviour therapy of phobias. A hierarchy of fears (increasingly fearful stimuli) is set up and the patients expose themselves to each level of the hierarchy in turn. Exposure continues until *habituation occurs; the patient then proceeds to the next highest level of the hierarchy. The patient is ultimately able to cope with the feared object or situation.... graded self-exposure