‘Slowly adapting receptors’ respond to prolonged and constant stimulation, and generate action potentials throughout the entire stimulation period; ‘rapidly adapting receptors’ fire only at the beginning and at the end of a stimulus, and stop firing in response to stimulation whose frequency does not change.1 Rapidly and slowly adapting receptors illustrate another key aspect of sensory coding: neurons report on important characteristics of the stimuli perceived not only when they fire, but also when they slow down or stop.1
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