Mirror Bias
Definition: A systematic preference, assumption, or neglect arising from treating mirror-image stereoisomers as functionally equivalent when they are not.
Context: Mirror bias often manifests as an implicit assumption that enantiomers behave similarly in biological systems, leading to underestimation of differences in potency, toxicity, metabolism, or signaling. Historically, mirror bias contributed to delayed recognition of enantioselective drug effects.
Example: Assuming a racemic drug's clinical profile reflects both enantiomers equally, despite one being pharmacologically dominant or toxic.
Related Terms: Chiral Neglect; Eutomer; Distomer; Stereo-pharmacology; Stereo-Sloppy
Reference: Hutt, A. J.; Caldwell, J. The importance of stereochemistry in drug action and disposition. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 29, 245-263 (1985).
Ariens, E. J., Stereochemistry, a basis for sophisticated nonsense in pharmacokinetics and clinical pharmacology, European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 26, 663-668, (1984)
DOI: 10.1007/BF00541922
Demonstrates how ignoring enantiomeric differences leads to systemic scientific error - a direct conceptual root of mirror bias.