| latency | 1. <physiology> The time between onset of a stimulus and peak of the ensuing action potential. 2. <microbiology> Of an infection, a period in which the infection is present in the host without producing overt symptoms. (18 Nov 1997) |
|---|---|
| latency period | <psychology> The period from about 5 to 7 years to adolescence when there is an apparent cessation of psychosexual development. (12 Dec 1998) |
| latency phase | In psychoanalytic personality theory, the period of psychosexual development in children, extending from about age 5 to the beginning of adolescence at age 12, during which the apparent cessation of sexual preoccupation during this period stems from a strong, aggressive blockade of libidinal and sexual impulses in an effort to avoid oedipal relationships; during this phase, boys and girls are inclined to choose friends and join groups of their own sex. Synonym: latency period. (05 Mar 2000) |
| virus latency | The ability of a pathogenic virus to lie dormant within a cell (latent infection). In eukaryotes, subsequent activation and viral replication is thought to be caused by extracellular stimulation of cellular transcription factors. Latency in bacteriophage is maintained by the expression of virally encoded repressors. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| multiple sleep latency test | A test of the propensity to fall asleep, done by performing polysomnography during multiple brief opportunities to sleep. (05 Mar 2000) |