potentiated

Potentiated is the past participle and adjective of the verb potentiate, meaning made more potent or increased in strength. The term is used across scientific disciplines to describe an effect that is strengthened beyond what would be produced by a single agent alone. In pharmacology and toxicology, potentiation refers to interactions in which one substance increases the effect or potency of another. This can occur through pharmacokinetic mechanisms, such as inhibition of metabolism or excretion, or through pharmacodynamic mechanisms, such as enhanced receptor response. A key aspect is that the potentiating substance may have little or no effect by itself but raises the impact of the other agent.

In pharmacology, examples include probenecid increasing penicillin levels by reducing renal clearance, and certain compounds enhancing the central nervous system effects of sedatives or analgesics. Potentiation can also describe situations where one drug amplifies the effect of another without contributing a direct therapeutic effect of its own.

In neuroscience, potentiation refers to increased synaptic strength after stimulation, most notably long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synapses, which is widely studied as a cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory. The term also appears in biochemistry and pharmacology to denote increases in potency or efficacy observed in experiments or clinical contexts.

Etymology traces to potent and the suffix -iate, with the -ed form used to describe outcomes or states.