stimulus
[stim´u-lus] (L.) any agent, act, or influence that produces functional or trophic reaction in a receptor or an irritable tissue.
conditioned stimulus a stimulus that acquires the ability to evoke a given response by repeatedly being linked with another stimulus that naturally evokes that response; see also
conditioning.
depolarizing stimulus a stimulus that lowers the
resting potential, making the inside of a fiber less negative. In cardiac fibers this means bringing the
resting potential from −90 mV to −70 mV.
discriminative stimulus a stimulus associated with
reinforcement, which exerts control over a given type of behavior; the subject must discriminate between closely related stimuli and respond positively only with this particular stimulus.
eliciting stimulus any stimulus, conditioned or unconditioned, that elicits a
response.
threshold stimulus a stimulus that is just strong enough to elicit a response.
unconditioned stimulus any stimulus that naturally evokes a specific response; see also
conditioning.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.