desensitization - In medicine, In psychology, In animals

An experimental treatment designed to prevent allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. It involves small repeated subcutaneous injections of the allergen believed to be responsible for the reaction. This is believed to train the body not to respond to the allergen. The basis of the treatment is that the antibody produced in response to the injections coats tissue cells, and blocks the access of a later dose of the offending allergen to which the individual was sensitive.

For telecommunications, Desensitization is a form of electromagnetic interference where a radio receiver is unable to receive the full strength of a radio signal.

See also: Receiver (radio), sensitivity

For medical purposes, Desensitization is a method to reduce or eliminate an organism's negative reaction to a substance or stimulus.

In medicine

For example, if a person with diabetes mellitus has a bad allergic reaction to taking a full dose of beef insulin, the doctor gives the person a very small amount of the insulin at first. Over a period of time, larger doses are given until the person is taking the full dose. (See Hyposensitization.)

At the cellular level, administration of small doses of toxin produces an IgG response which eventually overrides the hypersensitive IgE response.

In pharmacology, desensitization is the loss of responsiveness to the continuing or increasing dose of a drug.

In psychology

In psychology, desensitization (or graduated exposure therapy) is a process for mitigating the harmful effects of phobias or other disorders.

See also: graduated exposure therapy, systematic desensitization, sensitization

In animals

Animals can also be desensitized to their rational or irrational fears. A race horse who fears the starting gate can be desensitized to the fearful elements (the creak of the gate, the starting bell, the enclosed space) one at a time, in small doses or at a distance.