zustandsabhängig

Zustandsabhängig is an adjective used in German to describe that a property, effect, or process depends on the current state of a system. The state may refer to physical conditions (temperature, pressure, phase), internal conditions (physiological or psychological state), or configuration (variables of a model). The term is used across disciplines to indicate that changing conditions alter outcomes, and it is often contrasted with zustandsunabhängig, i.e., state-independent behavior.

In psychology and neuroscience, zustandsabhängiges Gedächtnis (state-dependent memory) refers to a phenomenon where recall is better when the retrieval state matches the encoding state—for example the same mood, intoxication level, or level of alertness. This has implications for experimental design and learning strategies.

In pharmacology and medicine, zustandsabhängige Wirkungen describe drug effects that depend on the organism’s state, such as nutritional status, receptor occupancy, or concurrent substances. Dosing and side-effect profiles may vary with state.

In physics, materials science and engineering, many properties are zustandsabhängig: conductivity, magnetization, or phase behavior can depend on temperature, pressure, or energy state. In computing and control theory, systems can exhibit zustandsabhängiges Verhalten, where outputs depend on internal state variables, often modeled with Zustandsautomaten or dynamischen Systemen.

See also: state-dependent memory, state-dependent learning; contrast with zustandsunabhängig or state-independent properties. The term is typically qualified by specifying the relevant state variable to avoid ambiguity.