Macropsia - The visual perception that objects are larger than they actually are.

MACSIS - (Multi-Agency Community Services Information System) An automated payment and management information system for mental health services, including both Medicaid paid and non-Medicaid paid services

Made Experiences - See 'Passivity phenomena'.

Magical Thinking - The erroneous belief that one's thoughts, words, or actions will cause or prevent a specific outcome in some way that defies commonly understood laws of cause and effect.

Magistrate - Judicial officer exercising some of the functions of a judge. It also refers in a general way to a judge.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging - (MRI) A technique for brain imaging that scans the brain using magnetic fields and radio waves.

Mainline - Intravenous injection. Mark - a person who is easily tricked or cheated.

Maintenance - Money paid to a spouse in the event of a divorce (also known as alimony)

Maintenance Treatment - Treatment for opiate addiction that involves giving the addict a synthetic opiate (methadone or LAAM) to prevent the withdrawal and craving that often provoke relapse.

Major Depressive Disorder - A mood disorder characterized by intense feelings of depression over an extended time, without the manic high phase of bipolar depression.

Maladaptive Behaviors - Behaviors acquired by drug users that hinder them from succeeding in the normal, non-drug-using world.

Malfeasance - The commission of an unlawful act.

Malicious Prosecution - An action instituted with intention of injuring the defendant and without probable cause, and which terminates in favor of the person prosecuted.

Malpractice - Any professional misconduct.

Mandamus - A writ by which a court commands the performance of a particular act.

Mandatory Serious Youthful Offender - A person who is eligible for a mandatory SYO sentence and who is not transferred to adult court under a mandatory or discretionary transfer.

Mania - An affective disorder characterised by intense euphoria, overactivity and loss of insight.

Manic Episode - A component of bipolar disorder characterized by periods of extreme elation, unbounded euphoria without sufficient reason, and grandiose thoughts or feelings about personal abilities.

Manifest Content - In Freudian dream analysis, the surface content of a dream, which is assumed to mask the dream's actual meaning.

Manslaughter - The unlawful killing of another without intent to kill; either voluntary (upon a sudden impulse); or involuntary (during the commission of an unlawful act not ordinarily expected to result in great bodily harm).

Marijuana - A psychoactive drug made from the leaves of the cannabis plant. It is usually smoked but can also be eaten. See Cannabis.

Marinol - The trade name of dronabinol, a synthetic version of THC used as medicine.

Marshal - The executive officer of the federal court.

Martin Settlement - Consent order settling the federal class action suit Martin v. Strickland; provides opportunities for an additional 1,500 people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities to be served through Medicaid- funded home and community-based waivers (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, case number 89-CV-00362)

Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Directory - A publication of several volumes which contains names, addresses, specialties, and rating of United States lawyers; also includes digests of state and foreign statutory law.

Masochism - Pleasure derived from physical or psychological pain inflicted on oneself either by oneself or by others. It is called sexual masochism and classified as a paraphilia when it is consciously sought as a part of the sexual act or as a prerequisite to sexual gratification. It is the converse of sadism, although the two tend to coexist in the same person.

Material Evidence - Evidence which is relevant to the issues in a case.

Maturation - The continuing influence of heredity throughout development; the age-related physical and behavioral changes characteristic of a species.

MDA - One of several hallucinogenic "designer drugs" with psychedelic properties that are manufactured by basement chemists.

MDMA - (Ecstasy) A hallucinogenic "designer drug" with psychedelic and stimulant properties.

Mean - The arithmetic average of a group of scores; the most commonly used measure of central tendency.

Means Test - Section 707(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code applies a "means test" to determine whether an individual debtor's chapter 7 filing is presumed to be an abuse of the Bankruptcy Code requiring dismissal or conversion of the case (generally to chapter 13). Abuse is presumed if the debtor's aggregate current monthly income (see definition above) over 5 years, net of certain statutorily allowed expenses is more than (i) $10,000, or (ii) 25% of the debtor's nonpriority unsecured debt, as long as that amount is at least $6,000. The debtor may rebut a presumption of abuse only by a showing of special circumstances that justify additional expenses or adjustments of current monthly income.

Measure of Central Tendency - A statistic, such as a mean, median, or mode, that provides one score as representative of a set of observations.

Measures of Variability - A statistic, such as a range or standard deviation, that indicates how tightly the scores in a set of observations cluster together.

Median - The score in a distribution above and below which lie 50 percent of the other scores; a measure of central tendency.

Mediation - A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps them agree on a settlement.

Medicaid-Only Case - A low income or aged applicant/recipient receiving federal or state sponsored medical and hospital insurance benefits only (no cash assistance).

Medical Support - The CSEA shall secure and enforce the requirement for medical insurance for all IV-D cases when coverage is available and reasonable or expected to become available.

Meditation - A form of consciousness alteration designed to enhance self-knowledge and well-being through reduced self-awareness.

Medulla - The region of the brain stem that regulates breathing, waking, and heartbeat.

Memorandum - An informal note or instrument embodying something the parties desire to have in written evidence.

Memorialized - In writing.

Memory - The mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information.

Memory Consolidation - The physical and psychological changes that take place as the brain organizes and restructures information that may become a permanent part of memory.

Menarche - The onset of menstruation.

Mens Rea - Literally in Latin, "guilty mind." The intent required to commit the crime. It is a prerequisite to conviction for a crime involving a moral wrong, but it is not a prerequisite to conviction for an act that is a crime only because a statute designates it to be a crime, e.g., overtime parking.

Mental Age - In Binet's measure of intelligence, the age at which a child is performing intellectually, expressed in terms of the average "age at which normal children achieve a particular score.

Mental Health Treatment - Special condition the court imposes to require an individual to undergo evaluation and treatment for a mental disorder. Treatment may include psychiatric, psychological, and sex offense-specific evaluations, inpatient or outpatient counseling, and medication.

Mental Retardation - Condition in which individuals have IQ scores 70 to 75 or below and also demonstrate limitations in the ability to bring adaptive skills to bear on life tasks.

Mental Set - The tendency to respond to a new problem in the manner used to respond to a previous problem.

Mentorship - The learning relationship between a student and an expert in a specific role or domain in which direction, support, and guidance is provided for the purpose of increasing knowledge and experience in particular areas of interest.

Meperidine - A synthetic opiate commonly known as Demerol.

Merger - The absorption of one thing or right into another.

Mescaline - A naturally occurring hallucinogenic drug that acts on the serotonin receptor.

Messenger Ribonucleic Acid - (mRNA) A molecule that carries the genetic code from DNA to the parts of the cell that use the code to make components of the cell.

Meta-Analysis - A statistical technique for evaluating hypotheses by providing a formal mechanism for detecting the general conclusions found in data from many different experiments.

Metabolic Enzymes - Enzymes that break down or inactivate drugs in the body; also, enzymes that break down food and produce energy.

Metabolic Tolerance - The body's increased ability to eliminate a drug, thereby making a given dose less effective.

Metabolism - The processes by which the body breaks things down or alters them so they can be eliminated; also, the processes by which the body extracts energy and nutrients from food.

Metabolites - The products that result when enzymes in the body break things down or alter them to produce energy or eliminate them.

Metamemory - Implicit or explicit knowledge about memory abilities and effective memory strategies; cognition about memory.

Methadone - A long-lasting synthetic opiate used to treat cancer pain and heroin addiction.

Methamphetamine - A commonly abused, potent stimulant drug that is part of a larger family of amphetamines.

MHPG - (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol) A major metabolite of brain norepinephrine excreted in urine.

Micropsia - The visual perception that objects are smaller than they actually are.

Microsomal Ethanol Oxidizing System - (MEOS) Liver enzymes that metabolize many drugs, including alcohol.

Middle Insomnia - Awakening in the middle of the night followed by eventually falling back to sleep, but with difficulty.

Mind - The container of the contents of consciousness, what we call the results of our processes of perception, thinking, and feeling. The mind is the manifestation of consciousness.

Minor - A person under the age of legal competence.

Minute Book - A book maintained by the courtroom deputy (bailiff), which contains minute entries of all hearings and trials conducted by the judge.

Minutes - Memorandum of a transaction or proceeding.

Miranda Warning - Requirement that police tell a suspect in their custody of his or her constitutional rights before they question him or her. So named as a result of the Miranda v. Arizona ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

Mirroring - The empathic responsiveness of the parent to the developing child's grandiose-exhibitionistic needs. Parental expressions of delight in the child's activities signal that the child's wishes and experiences are accepted as legitimate. This teaches the child which of his or her potential qualities are most highly esteemed and valued. Mirroring validates the child as to who he or she is and affirms his or her worth.

Misdemeanor - A criminal offense lesser than a felony and generally punishable by fine or by imprisonment other than in a penitentiary.

Misfeasance - Improper performance of an act which a person might lawfully do.

Mistake of Fact Hearing - A hearing to determine if there was an error in a process (e.g., the amount of current or overdue support, medical order, or in the identity of the alleged absent parent, etc.)

Mistrial - An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again with the selection of a new jury.

Mitigating Circumstances - Those which do not constitute a justification or excuse for an offense but which may be considered as reasons for reducing the degree of blame.

Mitigation - A reduction, abatement, or diminution of a penalty or punishment imposed by law.

Mittimus - The name of an order in writing, issuing from a court and directing the sheriff or other officer to convey a person to a prison, asylum, or reformatory, and directing the jailer or other appropriate official to receive and safely keep the person until his or her fate shall be determined by due course of law.

Mnemonics - Strategies or devices that use familiar information during the encoding of new information to enhance subsequent access to the information in memory.

Mode - The score appearing most frequently in a set of observations; a measure of central tendency.

Modification Hearing - Hearing conducted at the CSEA to determine if there was an error in calculation of support during the review and adjustment process.

Modified Arrears - Adjustment of the support arrearage obligation.

Mood - A pervasive and sustained emotion that colors the perception of the world. Common examples of mood include depression, elation, anger, and anxiety. In contrast to affect, which refers to more fluctuating changes in emotional "weather," mood refers to a more pervasive and sustained emotional "climate." Types of mood include: dysphoric, elevated, euthymic, expansive, irritable.

Mood Disorder - A mood disturbance such as severe depression or depression alternating with mania.

Mood-Congruent Psychotic Features - Delusions or hallucinations whose content is entirely consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood.

Mood-Incongruent Psychotic Features - Delusions or hallucinations whose content is not consistent with the typical themes of a depressed or manic mood.

Moot - A moot case or a moot point is one not subject to a judicial determination because it involves an abstract question or a pretended controversy that has not yet actually arisen or has already passed.

Morality - A system of beliefs and values that ensures that individuals will keep their obligations to others in society and will behave in ways that do not interfere with the rights and interests of others.

Morphine - The most potent natural opiate compound produced by the opium poppy.

Motion - An application made to a court or judge which requests a ruling or order in favor of the applicant.

Motion in Limine - A motion made by counsel requesting that information which might be prejudicial not be allowed to be heard in a case.

Motion to Lift the Automatic Stay - A request by a creditor to allow the creditor to take action against the debtor or the debtor's property that would otherwise be prohibited by the automatic stay.

Motivation - The internally generated state (feeling) that stimulates us to act. The neural substrate for motivation is most likely found in the brain reward system.

Motor Cortex - The region of the cerebral cortex that controls the action of the body's voluntary muscles.

Motor Neurons - The neurons that carry messages away from the central nervous system toward the muscles and glands.

MPTP - A neurotoxin found in a "designed" opiate called "China white," which kills the neurons that make dopamine, producing a set of symptoms that look like Parkinson's disease.

MR/DD - (Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities) The Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities or a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; sometimes is used when referring to an individual with mental retardation or another severe, chronic disabling condition that arises before age 22 and persists indefinitely.

Multistate Financial Institution Data Match - (MSFIDM) Process created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) of 1996 by which delinquent child support obligations are matched with accounts held in financial institutions doing business with more than one state. States undertake actions to place a lien on and seize all or part of the account.

Murder - The unlawful killing of a human being with deliberate intent to kill: (1) murder in the first degree is characterized by premeditation; (2) murder in the second degree is characterized by a sudden and instantaneous intent to kill or to cause injury without caring whether the injury kills or not.

Mutual Assent - A meeting of the minds; agreement.

Myelin Sheath - A covering made of a special fat that encloses a neuron's axon and allows it to transmit action potentials.