APA Dictionary of Psychology

a type of congenital blindness that is inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern or, rarely, is caused by a spontaneous genetic mutation and almost always affects males. Progressive hearing loss is seen in about one third of cases, and more than half of affected individuals experience developmental delays in motor skills such as sitting up and walking. Additional problems associated with this disease are mild to moderate intellectual developmental disorder; psychosis; and abnormalities that interfere with breathing, circulation, excretion, or reproduction. [reported in 1927 by Gordon Norrie (1855–1941), Danish ophthalmologist]