catatonia

n 1: extreme tonus; muscular rigidity; a common symptom in

catatonic schizophrenia

2: a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to

remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods; the

catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme

excitement [syn: {catatonic schizophrenia}, {catatonic

type schizophrenia}]

catatonic

Describes a condition of suspended animation in which

something is so {wedged} or {hung} that it makes no response.

If you are typing on a {terminal} and suddenly the computer

doesn't even echo the letters back to the screen as you type,

let alone do what you're asking it to do, then the computer is

suffering from catatonia (possibly because it has crashed).

Compare {buzz}.

[{Jargon File}]