How can sensory systems detect such a broad range of stimuli intensity?
The sensitivity range of a sensory organ is much broader than the range of a single receptor cell. This is because individual afferent fibers of the sensory system cover different parts of the sensitivity spectrum. For example, only the most sensitive receptor cells will respond to a low level stimulus. As the stimulus intensity continues to increase, the receptors become fully activated (saturated), but a group of less sensitive receptor becomes stimulated. This recruitment of additional receptors continues as the stimulus intensity increases, until all receptors are fully saturated. This subdivision of the total range of response by receptor cells of different sensitivities is called range fractionation because individual receptors cover only a fraction of the total range of the sensory system. When all receptors are fully active, the system is not capable of detecting any further increase in stimulus intensity. Some sensory systems (receptors and their neurons) generate a rather con
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