‘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.4 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.4
References:
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2.Squire LR, Berg D, Bloom FE, et al. Fundamental Neuroscience, 4th edition. Elsevier S&T; 2012.
3.Nieto MP. Human visual pathway. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37868501. Accessed September 2025.
4.Kandel ER, Koester JD, Mack SH, Siegelbaum SA. Principles of Neural Science, 6th edition. McGraw-Hill Professional; 2021.