Sensitization

This article is about the concept in psychology. For the concept in immunology, see Sensitization (immunology). For central sensitization (physiologic pathology), see Central sensitization. For the sensitization effect (metallurgy), see Intergranular corrosion.

Sensitization is a nonspecific phenomenon whereby repeated exposure to a stimulus results in the progressive enhancement of a response. The concept has been studied using the reflexes of animals such as Aplysia to better understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Research on sensitization includes a range of phenomena including drug sensitization and cross-sensitization, where a response is enhanced for a whole class of stimuli in addition to the original repeated stimulus. It has also been implicated in the pathologies of various health disorders.

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