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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.02.17.953448

A Universal Law of Sensory Adaptation

Abstract

Measurements of the peripheral sensory adaptation response were compared to a simple mathematical relationship involving the spontaneous, peak and steady-state activities. This relationship is based on the geometric mean and is found to be obeyed to good approximation in peripheral sensory units showing a sustained response to prolonged stimulation. From an extensive review of past studies, the geometric mean relationship is shown to be independent of modality and is satisfied in a wide range of animal species. The consilience of evidence, from nearly one hundred years of experiments beginning with the work of Edgar Adrian, suggests that this is a fundamental result of neurophysiology.

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BibTeXRIS

Wong, W.. 2020-02-19. A Universal Law of Sensory Adaptation. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.17.953448

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