Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Caitlin Jeschke's picture

I agree...

...that it is a bit puzzling how our sensory neurons can seemingly become "used" to sensory input, such as the feel of cloth against the skin, or the temperature and levels of light in a room.  It occurred to me that the phenomenon of "spinal shock" that Prof. Grobstein described during our Christopher Reeve discussion could be evidence of a similar acclimatization process occurring in interneurons.  The neurons of the spinal chord are used to a certain level of constant input from upper parts of the nervous system, and the system experiences "shock" when this input is suddenly changed (or completely cut off).  So, maybe there is some property of all neurons or at least of all input/output boxes that allows them to adjust to a particular set of conditions.

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
4 + 5 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.