| reinforcement | 1. <neurology> An increase of force or strength; denoting specifically the increased sharpness of the patellar reflex when the patient at the same time closes the fist tightly or pulls against the flexed fingers or contracts some other set of muscles. See: Jendrassik's manoeuvre. 2. <dentistry> A structural addition or inclusion used to give additional strength in function; e.g., bars in plastic denture base. 3. <psychology> In conditioning, the totality of the process in which the conditioned stimulus is followed by presentation of the unconditioned stimulus which, itself, elicits the response to be conditioned. See: reinforcer, schedules of reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| reinforcement schedule | <psychology> A schedule prescribing when the subject is to be reinforced or rewarded in terms of temporal interval in psychological experiments. The schedule may be continuous or intermittent. (12 Dec 1998) |
| reinforcement, verbal | Use of word stimulus to strengthen a response during learning. (12 Dec 1998) |
| primary reinforcement | Satisfaction of physiological needs or drives, such as that supplied by food or sleep. (05 Mar 2000) |
| secondary reinforcement | Reinforcement through something which, while it does not satisfy the need directly, has been associated with direct satisfaction of the need, such as the effect on behaviour of a food or beer commercial on television. (05 Mar 2000) |
| social reinforcement | <psychology> The strengthening of a response with a social reward such as a nod of approval, a parent's love or attention. (12 Dec 1998) |
| prenatal exposure delayed effects | Delayed effects on offspring of maternal or foetal prenatal exposure to drugs, radiation and other physical agents, manipulation, nutrition, stress, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| puberty, delayed | Unusually late sexual maturity. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hypersensitivity, delayed | An increased reactivity to specific antigens mediated not by antibodies but by cells. (12 Dec 1998) |
| delayed-action preparations | Dosage forms of a drug that act over a period of time. (12 Dec 1998) |
| delayed allergy | A type IV allergic reaction; so called because in a sensitised subject the reaction becomes evident hours after contact with the allergen (antigen), reaches its peak after 36 to 48 hours, then recedes slowly. Associated with cell-mediated responses. See: delayed reaction. Compare: immediate allergy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| delayed coma after hypoxia | Coma that develops a few days to 3 weeks after an acute hypoxic insult; the latter was usually severe enough to cause an initial bout of coma, which cleared, and was followed by a transient interval of apparent normality. Synonym: severe postanoxic encephalopathy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| delayed conduction | First-degree A-V block. See: atrioventricular block, intraventricular block, bundle-branch block. (05 Mar 2000) |
| delayed dentition | Delayed eruption of the teeth. (05 Mar 2000) |
| delayed eruption | A dental eruption pattern which is chronologically late in comparison with the average pattern of dental eruption; eruption of the first tooth occurs at a later age than the average, and the intervals of time between subsequent dental eruption's are longer than the average. Drug eruption, any eruption caused by the ingestion, injection, or inhalation of a drug, most often the result of allergic sensitization; reactions to drugs applied to the cutaneous surface are not generally designated as drug eruption, but as contact-type dermatitis. Synonym: dermatitis medicamentosa, dermatosis medicamentosa, drug rash, medicinal eruption. (05 Mar 2000) |