Inhibitor

Look up inhibition or inhibitor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to:

In biology

• Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity

In chemistry

• Corrosion inhibitor, a substance that decreases the rate of metal oxidation
• Reaction inhibitor, a substance that prevents or decreases the rate of a chemical reaction

In psychology and neurology

• Cognitive inhibition, the mind's ability to tune out irrelevant stimuli
• Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotransmitter
• Inhibition of return, a feature of attention
• Inhibition theory, a theory pertaining to the performance of a mental task
• Latent inhibition, a term used in classical conditioning
• Lateral inhibition, a neural mechanism that increases contrast between active and (neighbouring) inactive neurons
• Memory inhibition, processes that suppress or interfere with specific memories
• Sexual inhibition, reservations relating to sexual practices
• Social inhibition, a conditioned fear reaction to social marginalization or isolation
• Inhibitory postsynaptic potential, a synaptic potential that decreases the firing of a neuron

In popular culture

• Inhibitors (Revelation Space), machines in Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space novels
• "Inhibitions", a 2008 single by Swedish band Alcazar

See also

• Preservative, a substance that inhibits spoilage
  • Embalming, the preservation of human remains
  • Food preservation, the inhibition of microbial growth in food
• Nuclear poison, an inhibitor of nuclear reactions