The following pharmacological definition has been taken from the Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Department Glossary at Boston University School of Medicine.

Latent Period or Latency:

The period of time that must elapse between the time at which a dose of drug is applied to a biologic system and the time at which a specified pharmacologic effect is produced. In general, the latent period varies inversely with dose; the relationship between dose and latent period for a given agent is described by a time-dose or time-concentration curve.

The copyright of the text is hold by Trustees of Boston University. Permission has been granted for its use in this blog.

Are you a visual learner interested in learning psychopharmacology? Click here to get our videos