Skip to main content

Non-Monotonic Dose Response

Meaning

A Non-Monotonic Dose Response (NMDR) describes a biological relationship where the magnitude of the response to a substance does not increase or decrease consistently with an increase in the dose. Instead, the response curve may be U-shaped or inverted U-shaped, meaning a substance may have a greater effect at very low doses than at higher doses. This pattern is particularly important in endocrinology and toxicology, challenging the traditional assumption that “the dose makes the poison.”