tail flick test

a procedure used to measure pain sensitivity in nonhuman animals (usually rodents). An intense beam of light is focused on a specific spot on the animal’s tail. After a period, the animal abruptly moves its tail to avoid the beam of light. The time that elapses before this tail flick is used as an index of pain sensitivity; analgesic drugs (e.g., morphine) increase the response reaction time.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

reciprocal

n. the number that when multiplied by another number gives a result of 1. The reciprocal of x is therefore 1/x and that of 1/x is x. So, for example, 1/4 is the reciprocal of 4.