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Neurobiology

The many faces of adaptation

Nature volume 412, pages 776–777 (2001)Cite this article

Sensory neurons constantly adapt to the changing environment. It seems they can do this surprisingly quickly, and without losing their absolute frame of reference.

Sensory nerve cells can produce only a small number of distinct outputs, so they cannot generate a unique response to every relevant stimulus. To solve this problem, neurons adapt to the prevailing conditions, so the same limited set of outputs can be reassigned to different stimuli in different contexts. It was already known that, after a sudden change in the strength of a stimulus, neurons abruptly change their average responses (firing rate). Then, as the cells adapt to the new conditions, the mean response gradually adapts back to a more moderate level. Fairhall and colleagues1 (page 787 of this issue) now show that this change in average response is just part of the story: different aspects of a neuron's response adapt independently on different timescales. Uncoupling these aspects provides surprising insight into the functions of adaptation.

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Figure 1: Natural stimuli change dramatically in different contexts; for example, light levels vary from day to night.

References

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  1. Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Pamela Reinagel

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  1. Pamela Reinagel
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Correspondence to Pamela Reinagel.

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Reinagel, P. The many faces of adaptation. Nature 412, 776–777 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35090669

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