Neurotrophic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the stimulation and sustenance of nerve growth and development in the nervous system
2. Describing substances or factors that promote the health, survival, and differentiation of neurons through their neurotrophic properties
3. Pertaining to the processes that support neuronal growth and function, influencing the connectivity and viability of nerve cells

Etymology: "Neurotrophic" is a plain technical compound, built from "neuro-", the combining form from Greek "neuron" meaning sinew or nerve, and "-trophic", from Greek "trophikos", relating to nourishment or nutrition, from "trophe" meaning food. Put together, the parts describe something that nourishes nerves. The second element carries the core idea. In biology, "trophic" describes growth or maintenance that depends on a supporting influence, so a neurotrophic factor is a substance that sustains and encourages nerve cells. The term therefore reads more like a description of function than a name for a thing: nourishment, applied to the nervous system. Because both halves come from classical Greek but were combined in modern scientific language, the word is a coinage of recent scientific writing rather than something used in antiquity. Its meaning has stayed close to the literal sense of feeding nerve tissue.

Synonyms: nerve growth, neuronal supportive